


Smoke Signals

by AveryUnit



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, M/M, Trans Male Character, cryptic alien voices
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 15:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 110,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20066101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AveryUnit/pseuds/AveryUnit
Summary: In which a nine-year old Lio Fotia meets a fiery young boy and suddenly, this week-long summer trip away from home doesn't seem so bad.





	1. Day One

It’s hot.

  
It’s so hot it’s hard to breathe.  
  
  
Lio stares at the source of the heat, his fists clenched.  
  
  
It’s daytime.  
  
  
The sun is just slowly starting to set.  
  
  
“Just go away already, would you.” Whines Lio, wiping his hands on the grass below him. His hands are sweaty and stick to the pages of his book, leaving visible stains and its getting on his last _nerve_.  
  
  
He slowly leans his head back in order to not hit his head too hard on the concrete wall behind him.  
  
  
Lio Fotia, aged nine, child of a car-producing company’s CEOs (and most likely its next heir. He whines at the thought) is one day into the week-long summer trip in the countryside near Promepolis and he already wants to go home.  
  
  
He’s been here before with his parents the year before and the year before that. The first was exciting. Everything was new, he was somewhere outside of his mansion’s territory and everything was new to him, even if he wasn’t allowed to go too far from the summer house.  
  
  
It was built at the request of his parents (while wealthy, they’re not great architects). The exterior betrayed how the inside looked. Simple wooden structure combined with stone underestimated the marble pillars and shiny floors nearly identical to his own home lurked within. Lio was a bit  
disappointed, but at least it kept him from getting too homesick.  
  
  
(At first.)  
  
  
Lio closed his book. It was a fantasy novel about two young girls meeting by coincidence after being seperated for a long time and are pitted against each other in a fight for the salvation or destruction of the world. It’s honestly very engaging, and it’s not like Lio has a short attention span, it’s just--  
  
  
“_It’s soooo hooooooooot.” _ Lio whines, grateful for the rare solitude he has to let out his opinion audibly for once, even if there’s no one listening. His servants are all inside, cleaning up the place after leaving it neglected for so long. And his parents are in the city, settling some business with people they know through work.  
  
  
(Work, work, work. Is that all parents do? If so, Lio never wants to have kids. He wouldn’t wish this loneliness on anyone.)  
  
  
The child slides his back down the wall, most likely getting his pure white shirt dirty in the process. The house is not actually that far from the city. It’s about a ten-minute drive, from what he’s heard from his servants. But due to the small expanse of trees and large, large, _ large _ sunflower field covering Lio’s view of the direction the city is in, he can’t even see the buildings.

  
‘_So close, yet so far away.’_

That sentence can basically sum up everything about his life.

  
  
He opens his book again. Maybe he can find it in him to focus. If not, he’ll call Engel to get him an umbrella.  
  
  
It’s nice and quiet, at least.  
  
  
Up until he hears someone shout.  
  
  
Lio looks up. In the sunflower fields, he sees something peeking out from the tall stems.  
  
  
“Heeey!” The thing repeats, stepping out from the flowers and into the grass.  
  
  
It’s a boy. The first human child Lio’s seen in months other than himself. He blinks.  
  
  
“Hey, you! You a statue??”  
  
  
“Uh,” Lio stutters and clears his voice. “No?”  
  
  
“Oh, cool! ‘Cause that woulda been awkward.” The boy steps closer. Lio hides his anxiety of human interaction outside his family after months (or years, if that one time he tried to talk to the daughter of his mum’s friend and somehow made her cry, causing her to never come by again doesn’t count) of limiting himself to short conversations with his servants by inspecting the approaching boy.  
  
  
He was definitely bigger than Lio. Older by a year or two, maybe three, but Lio’s unusually small for his age (from what other people always, _ always _ tell him. He gets it, he’s short), so he wouldn't know. He had big, spiky blue hair that at the same time was flopping on the side of the boy’s head while standing up at the same time. He was dressed in a red shirt with flame patterns on it, beige shorts, socks and yellow and orange sports shoes. Opposite of Lio’s fashion, basically.  
  
  
‘_A commoner’ _ , Lio thought. _ ‘Mum and dad warned me about those. _’  
  
  
So with that thought, when the boy asks “Ya look bored. Wanna take a hike with me?” The boy throws a thumb behind his shoulder with a wide grin. “I was gonna catch grasshoppers in the field, but I forgot my bug net so I’m just walkin’ around.”, Lio, son of two wealthy, posh people, raised to not interact with people outside of business, says;  
  
  
“Sure.” And the book he was holding is thrown to the grass with a small thump.  
  
  
The boy grins even wider, somehow (Lio has never seen someone smile so much, and he’s met people who had tried and failed to create business ties with mum) and holds out a hand to the other child.  
  
  
Lio holds out his own hand, and when he hesitates, the mysterious blue-haired boy takes the initiative grabs it and hoists him up, bringing them almost face-to-face as Lio stumbles.  
  
  
He was tall. So much that Lio had to crane his neck up almost all the way back.  
  
  
The sun was setting and getting into his eyes, blocking the boy’s clear visage.  
  
  
“What’s ya name?” He asks.  
  
  
Stunned, he mindlessly chokes out; "Lio."  
  
  
“Nice to meetcha, Lio! My name is Galo Thymos!”  
  
  
“Galew... Thee moose?" Lio tilts his head after stepping back and patting himself down. The boy was talking really fast. The way he sounded seemed off, too.  
  
  
The boy groans and stomps his foot. "Noo! Galo Thymos! _ Thy-mos _!"  
  
  
"Feh...mos." He tries again, slower this time.  
  
  
"Ehh, close enough. You'll learn it eventually! Just don't forget it!" He turns around, towards the flower field, but doesn't start walking until he throws a "You talk weird." behind his back.  
  
  
Lio, starts running after the boy with puffed up cheeks. "No, I don't! _ You _ talk weird!"   
  
  
"You mean 'wee-rd'?" Galo tries correcting him. The nerve!  
  
  
"Wee-ard!" Lio shouts back.  
  
  
"See! You _ do _ talk weird!"  
  
  
"No, I don't! _ You're _ just close-minded!"  
  
  
"Huh? Am I?"  
  
  
"Yes!" Lio shouts, finally able to have the upper hand. He crosses his arms as he waits for the other to admit defeat, but instead he sees a worried face lean down closer to him.  
  
  
It’s the first time he sees his eyes. They’re blue, with bright pink spots where his black holes should be.  
  
  
"Aw, hey, I didn't think it was such a big deal to ya! I'm sorry! Don't cry, Lio!"  
  
  
Lio's confused , especially when the boy uses the bands on his wrists to wipe at his cheek.  
  
  
Lio realizes he's crying.  
  
  
Ah. Lio wasn’t ever really used to shouting. He always felt bad when he did. Whenever he finds himself being yelled at, he always starts crying despite himself, so having to try and put that feeling on others makes him cry, too.  
  
  
Lio suddenly realizes the other boy is tearing up.  
  
  
"Why are _ you _ crying too!?" Lio chokes out in between sobs.  
  
  
"I dunno!" Galo hiccups. "Why are _ you _ crying!?"  
  
  
"Because I'm sad! And angry!"  
  
  
"Then that!" Galo says before wiping at his face.  
  
  
They both just start to cry more.  
  
  
The scene turns into the two boys, confused and crying in the border of a sunflower field. Lio's surprised his servants didn't hear the commotion (he supposes they _ are _ all inside and thinking he's still in his room), so he just pulls a packet of tissues from his pocket and gives a few to Galo. (‘few’ meaning he took a fistful and blew his nose into it.)  
  
  
Eventually, they calm down, pocket their pocket tissues (Galo giggles as he says that outloud. Lio pretends to roll his eyes as he tries not to laugh) and head out into the field. Lio stops for a second.  
  
  
He sees the boy before him, sun setting behind him. He can’t quite see his face.  
  
  
Lio lowers his head, shakes it and steps forward.  
  
  
First time out of the house in a long time. He’s got this.  
  
  
As they walk down a small path made between the sunflower patches (Lio remembers it from his previous stay), the shorter decides to be the first to make conversation, like the gentleman he was raised to be.  
  
  
"You have weird hair." He says.  
  
  
He was nine, what did you expect?  
  
  
Galo, to his surprise, just turns to him and replies, "You have really _ nice _ hair!"  
  
  
"Really?"  
  
  
"Yeah!" Galo suddenly starts patting Lio’s hair with both hands. "All poofy n' stuff? It looks like cotton candy!"  
  
  
"H-Hey, stop that!"  
  
  
"I wanna like, lay in it!" Galo, instead of stopping like requested, comes closer and starts rubbing his face (his _ sweaty _ face, Lio shudders) all over Lio's hair. "If you grew it out and I laid in it, I bet it'd be like sitting on a cloud!" He muses.  
  
  
Lio is far too embarrassed to step away. Like his brain is on overload. So he just kneels down, away from the body next to him.  
  
  
Lio's never had too much physical contact from anyone. Especially since his parents are usually away nowadays, he only gets his hand held by his servants and, sometimes, when he falls asleep somewhere, carried in the arms of his maids or Engel. But that's it.  
  
  
"I'd look like a girl." Lio mumbles into his knees.  
  
  
"A 'guh'?" Galo eloquently says.  
  
  
"A girl!" Lio shouts louder, still into his knees.  
  
  
"A girl??"  
  
  
Lio hums affirmatively.  
  
  
"No, you wouldn't!"  
  
  
"Yes, I would."

  
  
"Nuh-uh. My hair is long, do I look like a girl?"  
  
  
Lio tilts his head to look up. He can still only see Galo's shadow, but he can make out the outline of Galo's hair, and that's enough to answer the question, right? "No... But yours is all spiky."  
  
  
"It's still long! And besides, "He kneels down, and Lio can see his face again, grinning wide. "Samurai had long hair, and they were never mistaken for girls! It's all about how you carry yourself!"  
  
  
Lio blinks. He's calmed down from his small overheat, so he lifts his head. "Semu...rye?"  
  
  
"Oh man," Galo takes Lio's hand and pulls him up. He’s very strong, he notes. "I'm gonna teach you _ so _ hard about Samurai. Listen to this--!"  
  
  
Galo then goes on a tangent about Samurai, which, despite Lio's previous frustration with the boy's loud mouth, he found himself listening intently to.  
  
  
Lio's never been very interested in history. It's all dates and months and merciless, discriminating emperors who only went down in history because they managed to kill a lot of people and get a lot of land. Noone Lio would want to learn about, much less be interested in.  
  
  
Galo, however. Galo rambles about Samurai (Japanese knights, basically, as he describes them to Lio in order to familiarize him), the Samurai code, facts about them. No dates or long names, he just talks about them with his big, shiny eyes as he wildly gestures the positions they take when sword fighting.  
  
  
"Sword Fighting?" Lio tilts his head.  
  
  
"Yeah! They used katana--like, swords, but really really thin, but just as sharp--and they posed like this!" He said as he spread his legs, slightly bent one, and put his arms together near his head.  
  
  
Lio didn't really talk except for that part, nodding along and "ooh"ing at especially exciting parts of Galo's lecture. Galo bent over a sunflower at one point to help him gesture a sword position, but let it go as soon as he was done (Lio thought he heard a small "sorry" directed at the plant when he finished and he smiled for a second. Just a second).  
  
  
Time passed. Galo was still talking, Lio was still listening. Eventually, they got to the other side of the sunflower field and Lio uncrossed his arms to step forward. The expanse was now made of clear, green grass and in the distance, he could spot the city; tall, white buildings making Lio feel smaller than he is already.  
  
  
"Aw, _ crap _!" Lio jumps as Galo bonks himself in the head with his fist. "I promised mom I'd be back home by six!" He scrambles to the side, zooming past Lio. The younger spots a blue bike with pink accents laying against the wooden fence surrounding the flower field. Galo hastily grabs the bike and carries it to the side of the road, in direction of the city. Lio finds himself following him like a lost duckling, with no knowledge of what he should do or say. Say goodbye? Tell him to come again? Plead him to stay?  
  
  
After the taller gets on the bike, Lio takes a step forward, as if to try and stop him when he knows full well he won't be able to, strong as he is.  
  
  
Galo however, doesn't ride off into the sunset immediately. He turns to the other boy.  
  
  
"You gonna be here tomorrow, too?"  
  
  
Lio stutters, hand coming up to fiddle with his ribbon. "Yes, well, I'll be at home..."  
  
  
"Cool!" Galo gives him a thumbs-up. "I'll be here tomorrow at like, uhh... twelve? One? Sound good?"  
  
  
Lio's eyes widen. Without thinking, he replies "Yes!"  
  
  
"Awesome! See ya, Lio!" He salutes before taking off.  
  
  
Lio steps on the asphalt, only on the pedestrian walk, to see Galo off. He sees the boy waving still, and he waves back hesitantly.  
  
  
He watches him until he can't see him anymore.  
  
  
The wind blows past him.  
  
  
Lio looked behind him, at the sunflower field, and thought about how far they had wandered from the summer home during Galo’s rant.  
  
  
He whines. At least it was a straight path.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

When he finally comes back to the summer house, Lio flops on the grass.  
  
  
He was sweaty, dead tired, and sweaty. So sweaty. Why did he wear a long-sleeved shirt on a summer day.  
  
  
Eventually, he got up and grabbed his book (it was still there, thankfully) before returning to the house through the back entrance.  
  
  
Engel darted towards him as soon as he saw him, patting him down and asking him where he's been. Lio replies he was taking a walk. (Technically not a lie. He just forgot to mention the extra history lesson.)  
  
  
Since he had no bruises or anything, he got off with only a warning and a plea to let the old man know when he was going to go off and explore.  
  
  
Lio returned to his room, put his book on the desk and flopped on his bed, identical to the way he fell on the grass earlier. Poetic cinema, really.  
  
  
He usually had more energy than this. It was only six in the evening. Then again, he doesn't usually walk through a giant field twice in one day, either.  
  
  
Lio sighs and sluggishly changes into his pajamas before pulling the sheets over his whole body and lets sleep take him.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

_ Lio dreams of beautiful, long-haired knights fighting each other with katanas in a vast, golden grass field. He was sitting on the ground (soft, like a flower's petals) as he looks on in wonder and cheers them on. _

  
  
🔻  
🔻  
🔻

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> galo, american accent: hey you wanna play together??  
lio, british accent: wot??  
galo: im taking that as a yes!
> 
> Shoutout to Promare hell discord for putting up with my ramblings while writing this. Love u <3
> 
> Update, 07.10.2019;  
COVER ART BY LEON!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Here's his twitter! https://twitter.com/dapporock


	2. Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i woke up at noon today bc i stayed up late writing this whoops

When Lio wakes up the next day, it’s to a familiar voice.

"Young Master Lio, it's already eleven." Engel says, his gloved hand gently shaking the child's shoulder. "You shouldn't let such a nice day go to waste, now."

Lio groans loudly into his pillow.

“You don’t usually sleep in this late. Did something happen or is the holiday factor finally getting you to laze off?”

“My legs hurt.”

“Your legs?”

“Mhm.” Lio nods, face still in the pillow.

“Good lord, how far did you walk?”

The boy finally lifts his head enough to talk clearly. “To the other side of the sunflower field.”

“Well, that explains it. But look on the bright side, master Lio!” Engel huffs as he pushes away the covers and lifts the boy into his arms. “You finally got some exercise in! Lord knows you need it, dainty as you are.”

“Mmmmmpf.” Lio just muffles his whines into Engel’s shoulder as the latter pats him on the back, walks out of the room and, he presumes, into the kitchen, if the delicious smell of bacon and eggs is anything to go by.

🔻

🔻

🔻

After the butler had Lio take some ibuprofen, the boy started chewing on his breakfast with bleary eyes. In the meantime, he tried to adjust his eyesight by focusing on the things around him.

The kitchen had not changed since the last time he was here. Same combination of brown and white furniture, clean floors and a wide table, empty as ever. His gaze turned to Engel, who was busy washing the dishes. Though his back was turned to him, he could make out his long, navy tailcoat, white hair with red tips standing up in a tall but neat pompadour, and the chain from his gold monocle dangling by his face. Lio blinks and he can just make out the tip of the old man’s curly moustache.

“Where are mum and dad?” He spoke up, trying to clear his voice next.

“Mister and missus drove to the beach, I believe.” Engel responds, never pausing his chore. “They did not want to wake you, so they went by themselves. Should be back this evening, if not later.”

“Okay.” Lio didn’t really expect them to wait for him. He’d probably refuse anyway. The beaches are all overpopulated this time of year and Lio will just spend the day sweating and asking his parents if they can go now. And be a general bother to them.

He sighs. Pushing away his finished place, Lio looked up at the clock on the wall, squinting. It was noon already. Wow, he really _ had _ slept in, hadn’t he? It was almost time for that boy to arrive, too--

He gasps. “_ Galo! _”

Lio quickly covers his mouth, shocked at the volume of his own voice. Engel was too, if his hands scrambling at the plate in his hands was any indication. The butler turned to him. “What?”

“Um--!” The boy lets his hands slide down to the table, balling into fists. “Uh… I had a dream, and uh…” He continues talking, for some godforsaken reason. “A gallow… was in it."

“That’s… morbid.” Engel cautiously puts the dish away in the drying rack, continuing to look at Lio disbelievingly. “Was there something interesting about it?”

“...No.” He looks away. "There wasn’t actually a gallow.”

“Oh.” He wipes the metaphorical sweat from his brow. “Okay, thank god for that.”

Lio fidgets in his seat. “I actually dreamt about knights, or, um. Samurai? Fighting in front of me. And I cheered them on.”

“Oh!” He loops the towel around the oven’s handle again. He seems genuinely invested now. “Like a lord seeing someone fight for sport?”

“I guess so.”

“I see. But was there a reason you shouted out ‘gallow’?”

“I… forgot the name for it, and I just remembered it?” Lio’s getting really good at lying and he doesn’t like it.

Engel squints and Lio gulps. Thankfully, the man smacks his lips and shrugs. “Alright then.” He grabs the towel again and starts drying his hands. “Will you be out today, as well? I’d like to know beforehand, so I know whether I should start crying over you midday or in the evening.”

“Oh.” Lio’s shoulders sag. He was too tired to listen to Engel’s ramblings yesterday, but he remembered that he made him extremely worried. “Probably evening. And don’t cry, Engel.” He lifts his head. “There’s literally nothing here. Not even wild animals.”

“You’re a dainty Brit, milord. Of course I have to worry over you.”

“Why are you working for a British family if you keep making fun of us?”

“Your father hired me _ because _ he wanted to joke around with me. In other words, your guess is as good as mine.”

“Hm.” Lio nods and slides from his chair. “Thank you for the food. It was good.”

“My pleasure.” Engel bows politely.

As Lio is leaving the kitchen, he stops. Then he looks behind him.

Engel finishes putting on his gloves and starts patting himself down before he notices Lio looking at him and pauses.

If there’s anyone he can trust to tell about this, it’s him.

The boy looks away and takes a breath before he speaks.

“There was a boy.” He begins.

“Another samurai?”

“No.” He shakes his head lightly. “But he likes them. I think he could become one.”

The butler’s face softens. ‘_ He’s catching up _.’ “Really?” He cocks an eyebrow as he leans his back against the counter. “Must be valiant, the little bugger.”

“He’s dumb. And loud.” He provides. “He disappeared before I could really learn about him.”

He hears a laugh. “Like a dream.”

“...Yeah.”

Engel crouches, and they can now speak face-to-face. “Would you like to learn more about him? If you ever see the lad again?”

The boy blinks and he brushes the hair in his face away. 

He nods.

“Then by all means, milord,” He stands up. “I wish you a good day.”

Lio looks up at Engel’s gentle smile, lacking it’s usual impishness, and returns it.

“Mhm. Thank you.”

🔻

🔻

🔻

When he steps outside and looks up at the sky, sun still hidden behind the summer home, Lio wonders if Galo really _ was _ just a dream. The heat was so persistent, he wouldn’t be surprised if it made him hallucinate.

The boy seemed too striking to be real.

Having changed out of his pajamas into black suspenders and a frilly white shirt (his wardrobe was very minimal and mostly consisted of this outfit, just out of different materials and with distinguishing details), Lio notices the air isn’t as stuffy as yesterday, which is good. If he was gonna walk around even more today, the heat of the sun would have to be in his favor, and the boy was no Helios.

There’s only one other servant today other than Engel, and she’s busy moving the lawn, so it was easy for Lio to sneak out the back entrance and plop himself on the grass in the exact spot he was sitting in yesterday. He didn’t bring a book, no point if it was just going to be left behind to simmer in the heat all day.

So, Lio just spread his legs out under the grass and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Now he kind of wished he had brought that book.

Where _was_ he? Surely, it’s well past one by now.

Lio sighed and hit his head against the wall behind him a bit too hard, causing him to hiss and rub at it.

Tears started pin-pricking at his eyes and he hugged his knees to his chest.

_ ‘That’s what you get for getting your hopes up, stupid.’ _

Lio takes a breath and looks up. He still can’t see the sun, and the shade from the house is looming over the heir, cooling his body in the battle against the dense summer air.

The wind blows past him.

He could almost fall asleep like this.

_ ‘I’m sorry for sleeping so much’ _ He mentally says in his mind. He doesn’t know if it’s to Engel, or to mum and dad, or to himself, but it only serves to make him more tired and done with everything.

The atmosphere of the countryside, the clear (for once) air, the shade, the lack of a sun glaring at him like a deadly laser, the distant rustling in the sunflower field gradually getting closer…

It’s all...

so…

relaxi

** _"WAH!"_ **

_ "AH!!" _

Lio jumps and scrambles as he once again has to deal with a rude awakening.

Blinking back the drowsiness, the boy rapidly blinks and realizes there’s something obscuring his view of the clear, cloudless sky. Looking up and focusing, he sees the boy from his memory, with both hands pressed into the wall over Lio, big, spiky hair looking like it was about to stab him in the head.

"G-Galo?" His brain registers. It's the boy from yesterday.

"Hi, Lio!” The boy says and it sounds the same. Lio’s not dreaming. At least, he doesn’t think so. “What are you doing sleeping? And while waiting for me, too!" His face contorts into a pout as he crouches in front of the sitting boy, elbows now situated on his knees as they come to eye-level. "For a guy with rich-looking clothes, you sure are rude!"

Yeah, it’s definitely him.

Lio blinks and tries to go back to his usual, stoic demeanor. "You mean expensive-looking clothes...?"

"Whatever! C'mon! We don't got all day!" Galo says as he forcefully grabs Lio’s arms and pulls the child up with him, in a fashion very similar to their first meeting. "Hurry, hurry, c'mon c'mon!"

Lio stumbles as Galo pulls on his arm and runs into the sunflower field, slowing into a walk only after he realizes the shorter boy isn't keeping up.

"What's the rush!?" Lio growls. His arm is still held in a vice grip and it was beginning to hurt.

"I was late 'cuz I forgot my bug net again and I had to go back." Galo supplies without looking back.

Huh, so that's why it took so long for him to show up. "It's rude to be late to a meeting you proposed, you know." Huffs Lio.

"I know, I know! And I'm really, super sorry!" Galo exclaims as he finally lets go of Lio's elbow and suddenly puts his hands together, as if in a prayer. At that, Lio raises an eyebrow.

"It's not that serious, just... Try not to be late next time."

Galo peeks one eye up at Lio, seemingly to check if he really wasn’t angry. He then smiles and nods, the boy's rapidly switching emotions nearly startling the light-haired one. After he starts walking down the dirt path again, Lio quickly jogs until he can walk side-by-side with him.

Galo seems more fit, and his legs are longer than his, he notices. It could be the fact that he’s most likely older, but... "Do you do sports?" He asks, figuring he might as well find out more about this Feh-mos person if they were going to make these meetings regular. He already had Engel’s approval. He thinks.

"I do all sports!" Galo replies without looking in Lio's direction, and the latter's eyes narrow in disbelief. "Soccer, baseball, football, swimming--"

"You listed 'football' twice."

"Huh?"

"Soccer and football are the same thing."

"No they’re not?"

"Yes they are!"

"They’re not! One has a black and white ball, the other has a brown one!" Galo’s face morphs into a frown as he lists the differences off on his fingers.

"You just described football and rugby."

"Rug…” His face scrunches up. “What?"

"Rug-by.” Lio speaks slowly, like to a small(er) child. “The sport where you wear lots of armor and fight for an oddly-shaped ball."

"Yeah? That’s football."

"No! How are you getting these confused?"

"’Cuz it’s what mom calls them! And mom knows more than I do!"

"Well, your mum is daft! It's football and rugby and she needs to get her names right!"

"I dunno what you just said but _ no _!"

They puffed up their cheeks as they both turned away from each other with a huff.

After walking in silence for a bit, however, Lio realized the quiet he's been wanting out of the boy was... He didn't know how to describe it. It was odd. Unusual? Can he say something about a person is unusual when he’s only known them for a day, almost two?

Whatever this feelings was, he knew one thing; being quiet didnt suit Galo.

"Um--" He started and Galo turned his head to meet his gaze. Lio jolted but kept going. "I'm sorry for my outburst. It's probably just a difference between us, since I'm not from these parts."

Galo blinked.

"Man, you use a lot of big words for a little dude."

"I--!"

"I like that!" He grinned, teeth showing. "You're smart! That's good, cuz I'm not. We even eachother out!"

"You think so?"

"Yeah!" He turns towards the path again. "I'm pretty stupid, so I know I won't really get anywhere in terms of big thinkin'. All I can do is just get strong."

Lio slows his pace. Something about that didn't feel right, either. He knew he was smarter than other children. When it was mentioned by his parents that he was home-schooled, people would always marvel at how smart he must be.

He knows he's smart. That he's ‘special’.

Galo's not smart, definitely. He’s brash and doesn’t understand accents. But--

"You're special, too."

"Hm?"

"You may not be the smartest, so what?" Lio sets his eyes on the path in order to not look at the other directly. He fears he'll see right through him, otherwise. "You're a lot more stronger. And you're really brave, too. And you're good at explaining things."

"The stuff I told you yesterday?” Galo’s hand reaches behind his head to scratch at it. “That was just stuff I like, though. School doesn’t care about things like that."

"School's stupid anyway, from what I’ve heard. You make everything sound interesting or exciting. It's weird. But that makes you interesting. And exciting.”

Galo has completely stopped to look at Lio. He continues.

"As long as it's what makes your soul burn, it shouldn't matter if you're smart or not." Lio finishes, and mumbles "At least, that's what I think." under his breath as an afterthought.

He doesn't look up, instead waiting for the blue-haired boy to say something, anything.

Then, he feels a familiar set of hands on his head.

"Hey,” Lio’s voice pitches, “I thought I told you to not do that--"

But instead of feeling sweat and skin rub against his hair, he sees Galo's face, smiling, his eyes shining and striking and staring directly into Lio's.

"You said all that was on your mind, and ya didn't even start crying!" One hand starts moving, soothingly patting Lio's light hair. Lio suddenly feels as if he’s paralyzed. "Progress, Lio! I'm proud o' ya!"

Lio feels his face heat up and starts slapping at Galo's arms. "Hey! Don't make this about me!" Lio protests, trying to shake the other boy off. 

Galo laughs and backs away (he doesn't look bothered at all, the weirdo) and rubs his head again. "Okay, okay, 's just... It's kinda embarrassing, ya know? Haha." He looks away. "I'm not used to compliments like that."

He looks... flustered. And Lio's not sure how to feel about this Galo. It’s much better than him deprecating himself, though, that’s for sure.

"I just said what was on my mind." Adds Lio, trying to smooth his hair.

"I know!" He lets out, all signs of modesty gone as he starts bouncing up and down. "And that's what’s so cool about ya! I don't have to worry about you holding back with me!"

Lio’s eyes widen a little. Then, he smiles and nods.

"You can count on me for honesty about your dimwittedness anytime, Galo Feh-mos."

"I didn't get any of that." He pouts. "And it's 'Galo _ Thymos _'."

But Lio just stands proud, hands balled into fists and perched on his hips. Galo sighs, and for the first time, he truly looks like the older out of the two of them.

🔻

🔻

🔻

Even after reaching the end of the sunflower field, Galo kept walking, to Lio's confusion.

So he stopped and wringed his hands together. "Galo?"

"Hmm?" The boy responded as he kept walking.

"Where are we going?"

"To the bus stop over there!" He pointed to the distance and Lio walked to his side, trying to see where he had gestured.

True to his word, there was some kind of wooden structure on the other side of the road some metres away. As Galo continued walking, Lio hurried to catch up with him.

When they came to their destination, Lio noticed a few things.

First, no, it didn’t resemble a gallow in any way.

Second, the bus stop was extremely run down. It was wooden and moldy, with the seat somehow miraculously intact. the plate attached to its wall was rundown and its bus schedule long worn and yellowed. It was clear this place has not seen any stops in at least a few years.

And third, there was a bike identical to the one Galo rode yesterday, leaning against the inside wall, as well as there was a navy blue backpack with wave patterns on it and a big but net.

Galo ran up to the supplies and grabbed the net. He then immediately turned around the way they came. "’Aight, let's go!" He said, grabbing Lio's wrist.

"Huh? W-what are we doing?"

"Catching grasshoppers, _ duh _!" Galo shrugged, voice lowering at the end, as if it was obvious. "I couldn't do it yesterday, so we're gonna do it today!"

"But why didn't you bring the net with you when you came for me?"

"Cuz you need exercise!" He emphasized as he pulled Lio closer and shook his forearm from side to side. "You're all dainty and weak! And pale! You're gonna walk around a _ lot _ with me!"

"Huh!?" Lio, usually with a vocabulary more extended than other children his age, was not able to respond with anything else. This kid... he was more direct than anyone he's ever met in his life.

"It's okay! I brought snacks and drinks so when ya get tired, we can come back here and you can rest! Breaks are important! It's what mom always says!" Galo shouts as he lets go of the boy's arm and runs to disappear among the sunflowers, off the beaten path.

Lio stands there, blinking.

Galo's head pops out of the sunflower stems, cheeks puffed. "You comin' or not!?"

The boy startles, nods and runs into the flowers.

First thing Lio Fotia notices is; It's hard to move among the stems. When he walked on the path it was already hard for him to not slip on the slippery dirt or trip on the bumps in the road. Here, he had to actively avoid stepping on the sunflower's roots and practically move sideways.

As he looked up to see how Galo was handling this, Lio saw the petals of the sunflowers cover the sunbeams above almost entirely, causing a pleasant shadow to fall on both of the boys’ bodies. It was like they were entering some kind of alternate world, or a secret hallway in a castle.

Watching the gaps of light fall on Galo's moving back, creating random patterns and shapes, for the first time in a long time (maybe in his life, even), Lio was glad to be this short.

Galo suddenly stopped, causing the shorter boy to bump into his back with a high-pitched grunt

The taller boy turned around, visibly unbothered, if his wide smile was anything to go by. "O-kay!" Galo said, bug net over his shoulder and hand on his hip. "You don't know anything about bug catching, right?"

"No... Why would I want to? It seems mean."

"In order to learn, ya gotta make _ sacrifices _!" Galo emphasizes, positioning his bug net in the same pose he showed lio yesterday, while imitating sword fighting stances, and his eyes lock on him as they widen. "And not even sacrifices." He adds, looking over at the boy. "We're just gonna catch 'em and let 'em go."

Lio kneels down, hands pressing his calves together. "Then what's the point of all this?" 

He yelps as the bug net is swiftly swung to be right in front of his face. "Precision, my dear Watson!" Galo announces. "To catch bugs you need hearing, patience, and precision!" He then points the net into the air before swinging it to his side, legs wide, and bringing his open palm in front of Lio. "In order to search for what you want, you need to practice these three abilities!"

"Precision." Lio repeats as he touches Galo's arm and gently lowers it. "I'm surprised you know that word."

"I learned it from Fortnite."

"What's Fortnight?"

"Man, you really do live under a rock."

Lio just looks down at the ground, because he really can't refute that. "I don't get out much."

"That's all the more reason for you to know enough to at least make fun of it." Galo twirls his net until it touches the ground and he leans on it with his elbow. "Dontcha have like, a computer you can use at home for internet?"

"No."

"You're rich, though. No tablets or anything??"

"Mum and dad have them in their studies. But I'm not allowed to use them until I'm older."

"Man, rich people are weird."

"We are."

"Whaddya do for fun then?"

"I read and watch the telly. And help Engel in the kitchen."

"Telly? Engel?" Galo also kneels down, but unlike Lio's reserved position, his legs are spread wide and his hands are flat under him on the ground.

"Telly is a television, and Engel is my butler. He makes very good cakes."

"Oh man, now _ he _ sounds cool!"

"He is." Lio smiles. "He's also good at doing a lot of voices. Like yours."

"Like mine? So like, he can do different accents?"

"Yes!” Perks up Lio. “I think it's because he used to move around a lot. He knows a lot of languages!"

"Woah. Mr. Worldwide."

"I don’t know what that reference is, either."

"I gotta get you to listen to some pop music or something. dude."

Lio cocks his head to the side. "...I like electro swing?"

"Valid. But the world has many doors, Ed boy." Galo says as he stands tall once again. "And we're only just beginning."

"My name is Lio."

"I thought you watched TV?"

"...mostly anime."

Galo slaps a hand on Lio's small shoulder and nods. "Good taste, my dude." 

"Thank you? I think?"

Galo nods and holds out his hand. Lio takes it and is helped up to his feet. He thinks this is becoming sort of a pattern.

"Okay, so; the trick to this is you gotta listen, then see, then _ act _." He points to his ears, eye, then balls his hand into a fist as his sentence goes on. "You gotta feel before you think."

‘_ So, do what you do all the time? _’ Lio almost says, because his natural reaction to not understanding something is to be rude, but he stops himself and nods instead.

He listens to Galo's instructions as he follows him through the stems of the sunflowers until he stops all of a sudden.

"Found one." He whispers.

The boy looks over the other's shoulder to see a grasshopper standing on one of the sunflower's leaves.

"Then you gotta ready your grip, raise it, get ready, and..."

A painful moment passes as Galo holds his net in the air.

"_ WHAM _!"

The sound of Galo's shout and rustling greenery hits Lio all at once, and in the next moment, the boy is fiddling with the net and turning around, something between his pinched fingers. "Ta-da~!" He announces with a triumphant, radiant grin that contrasts dramatically with the twitching grasshopper in his possession.

"_ Gh-- _!" Lio backs up in initial disgust, nearly falling down.

"Gross, right? But he's harmless. Even soft!" Galo pulls it to his cheek for a second to nuzzle it (a shudder runs through Lio's spine) before he sets the bug back on the leaf and it hops away to another flower.

"In a way, the grasshoppers also learn, dontcha think?"

"Huh? From what?"

"From getting caught." Galo says, still in a squat. "They realize that they can get caught easily if they stand still near a human, and the human learns how to properly catch something. It's a win-win."

"It's still hunting for sport."

"Hmm. Guess so." He stands up and is quiet for a moment before he turns to look at Lio. "Did ya know girl manti eat boy manti after they bang?"

"It's 'mantises'." He corrects. "And yes, I do?"

"Cool." He smiles and hands the other boy the net. "Still wanna try?"

Was he testing how much grossness Lio can take or something?

He 'tsk's and grabs the handle with resolve.

🔻

🔻

🔻

"How old are you, anyway?" Lio hears Galo ask behind him.

"Nine."

"Oh man, you're _ young _!" His attempt to focus on the cricket sounds was halted by sudden fingers tussling up his hair. "A lil' baby!" 

"Stoooop!" He whines, and they do. He turns around with a pout. "You're not that much older!" At least, he thinks.

"I'm eleven!" Galo crosses his arms proudly, as if that's some sort of achievement. "I'm practically grown up!"

Lio doesn't know what face he makes, but he's pretty sure it's his default face. The one he makes when he's reading a book or focusing. Because the next thing that comes out of Galo's mouth is "Wow, you have wrinkles. Maybe you _ are _ older than me."

"You're _ dumb _."

"Yeah! And you're nine!"

"_ Uuuuugh. _" Lio groans as he rolls his eyes so far, his head turns back to the sunflower stems.

After multiple attempts at catching any kind of bug had failed, Lio’s initial fear of the concept of touching a bug eventually turned into annoyance. What once caused him disgust now served as his motivation to achieve victory and recognition and maybe even--he grips the net with resolve--being considered cool by his new friend.

Galo had proposed they take a break after seeing Lio get worked up and his eyes so wide they could pop out of his head when he was staring at a potential catch, but Lio Fotia was not a quitter. It's not in his family name or anything. It's actually something he made up on the spot.

(He gives up on asking his parents about a toy he likes the moment they look at him, after all.)

Lio's eyes widen as they land on a suitable target and he stops crawling.

"Ooh, you found another one?" Galo inquires. "You may not be good at catchin' em, but you sure are good at findin' em! Takes me like, ten minutes to find another one of these things."

"Shh." He shushes Galo and the he hears the boy plop down on the ground.

He remembers Galo’s directions for the nth time today. He lowers the stick, slowly raises it, the grasshopper not leaving his sight. And then...

"_ HA!! _"

With a shout, he swings the net down like a guillotine, flipping it up a second after to look in it and--

He audibly gasps. He doesn't recognize his own voice as he reaches in.

"Galo!!" He raises his tone as he turns around, throwing the net on the ground. "Galo, Galo, Galo!! Look! _ Look! _" He crawls towards the boy, who seemed to be in the middle of drawing a triangle pattern in the dirt.

His face when he looks at Lio's hand is priceless. "DUDE! YOU GOT ONE!"

"I got one!"

"You GOT one!!"

"I _ got _ one!!"

The older boy grabs Lio by the shoulders and starts shaking him. "_ You gooooot ooooone! _" He drags his words out as he continues shaking him.

"Y-Yeah!!" Lio responds as he tries recovering himself from the incoming headache.

"Ahaha, good job! Now, time to throw him back in."

"Okay." Lio turns around, and throws the bug.

But he must've got his directions a bit confused from how hard Galo had shaken him. Because next thing he knew, there was something moving around in his mouth.

His eyes widen.

Galo's face is frozen in a smile.

Lio's mouth tightens in instinct, like he does whenever he does something wrong (or thinks he did) and clenches his teeth.

Big mistake.

He turns to Galo again for help, but he looks just as shocked as Lio.

Lio hums in panic and waves his hands to his mouth in a 'what do I do?' gesture.

"Uh. I dunno, man?? This is up to you now."

Lio feels sweat form on his body. In a panic, and from the sudden anxiety of what he's just done, he gulps.

The reality finally sets on Lio.

The wind blows past them.

"Dude." Says Galo. "You just ate a grasshopper."

"Am I going to die?" Lio asks. His brain reminds him ‘no, you won't, they’re not poisonous.’ but there seems to be sort of a barricade between his logical thinking and his child mind at the moment.

"Prolly not. I ate a cockroach before and I’m alive." Shrugs Galo. "That was hardcore, though."

"Mmm. Hmm." Lio nods. He continues nodding. His head is just bopping at this point. "Do you have water?"

"Yeah, at the station. C'mon." He grabs Lio's hands and stands up. However, Lio doesn't get up with him, as his body's not currently working. “Uh.” Galo crouches again as he comes closer and wraps his arms around Lio's entire body before he hauls him to his feet. Lio still doesn't move. Or blink, for that matter.

Galo scratches at his head before he grabs Lio's hand and starts walking. The younger child doesn't even realize he's following him, or the warmth in his hand.

🔻

🔻

🔻

The moment Lio was able to be aware of his surroundings was when he spat out the water in his mouth and then took three full gulps of it from the bottle afterwards.

"You okay, man?" Galo asks, worried, as he sits next to Lio after making sure he wasn't choking on his drink. "You like, totally zoned out back there."

Lio set the bottle on his knees and wiped his mouth with the pads of his fingers before letting them flop to his side. "I think so."

"Hey, lighten up! Every kid I've met has eaten an ant or spider or something like that. If anything, it's like your rite of passage!"

"My what?"

"Rite of passage! It’s a ceremony where you celebrate something when you reach a certain age! For example, in Japan, people celebrate turning twenty!" He smiles at another opportunity to throw in a fact about japanese culture.

"What's this rite of passage for, then?"

"Becoming a normal kid?" He smiles, seemingly not sure of his own words as he rubs the back of his head.

Lio lowers his gaze to the bottle in his hands, the 'Free!' brand covering the contents of it in big, blue letters alien to him. "I don't even know what a 'normal kid' is like." 

"You can learn by hanging out with me!"

"You're not normal."

"Wha--You _ just _ said you don't know what 'normal' is!"

"I know enough to know you're not normal."

"Aaagh!" Galo kicks his legs under the seat of the bus stop. "You_ jerk _!"

"I like it."

"Huh?"

"You're not normal, you're loud and talk a lot and don't think ahead of time." Lio repeats, looking Galo's way. "You're interesting. I like it."

Far more interesting than the kids of his parent’s friends, who were just like him; clinging to their father’s coat like a lifeline, waiting for the conversation to end as they stared dead into the other child’s eyes.

Eyes afraid, unsure. Dull and lacking their shine.

Eyes so unlike Galo’s, Lio thinks, as the former stares at him for a good couple of seconds before his mouth widens and he suddenly slides himself closer to the other boy's side.

"Lio, your face!"

"W-what?" He instinctively backs away.

"Did you just smile!? That was a smile! It was, wasn't it!?" Galo got closer and closer to his face with every sentence he finished, his grin only getting wider and eyes shinier.

The younger couldn't take the invasion of space anymore, so with a frown and huff, he stood up and out of the shade of the bus stop. "I did not!"

"Yeah, you did! You totally did!" Lio turned away from the sound of the boy's sports shoes hitting the dirt as they hastily jogged towards him.

"You hallucinated. Must be the heat. It caused your weak brain to fry."

"Hey, my brain fried, not my eyes!"

"Do you know what the eyes are connected to?"

"Uh, the skull?"

Lio sighed. "You're a dunce."

"Jokes on you, I dunno what that means either!"

Lio sighed louder.

  
"Lio smiled~ Lio smiled~" Galo sing-songed as he hopped in front of the boy's line of sight, hands behind his back. "Hey, that means you must like me a whole lot if you're smiling at me, right!?"

"As if." He sharply turns his head to the side again. "Don't flatter yourself."

"I totally will! ‘specially since I have a deal to make!"

Lio opens one eye to glare at Galo. "A deal?"

He nods strongly, face turning mischievous. "If I get you to smile again today..." He steps closer into Lio's space once more, and the latter steps back. "You gotta spend the whooooole day with me again tomorrow!"

"You're stubborn! And dumb!"

Really dumb.

As if Lio wouldn't jump at the opportunity to spend time with Galo again. To spend time with another person that seems to _ genuinely _ be trying to invest him in new things so that they can enjoy them together.

So dumb.

"So? Whaddya say?" Galo leans his head down so he and Lio are almost touching their foreheads together. “Chicken?"

Lio's face scrunches, then he holds his head up high and looks the boy dead in the eye. "I accept these terms, Galo Fehmos."

"Thymos."

"Hmpf."

"Prissy pants. Okay!" He walks backwards, away from Lio, and the shorter takes a moment to take a breath to ready himself. "So! Now that you've accepted, I guess I have no choice but to unleash my _ master plan! _"

"Your what?"

The impish look is back on Galo's face as he bends his knees, and then jumps as high as his little legs can allow him, hands revealing themselves from behind his back.

"_ Tadaaaaa! _"

"T-Those...!" Despite his earlier bravado, Lio's face quickly falls as his eyes focus on the objects in the older's hands. His own come up to cover his mouth.

The boy lands and his grin is just as wide as it was before. He waves his arms in the air, the sound of clacking reverberating through the empty field as he shouts; "Firecrackeeeeers!"

“Wha--” Lio takes a step back before pointing at Galo. “Why do you have those!? Aren’t they illegal!?”

“When there’s no cops around, anything’s legal! That’s what dad says.”

“That sounds like something an old con man would say!”

“Yup!” Galo puts one of the firecracker bundles in his other hand before he waves it dismissively. “‘sides, it’s only illegal to use fireworks and stuff like that if there’s homes around. Cities, suburbs, stuff like that.” He spreads his arms wide, gesturing to the field around them. “But there’s nothin’ here! And the bus stop is so moldy, I dunno if it’ll even catch fire.”

“Moldy wood can still catch fire.” Lio crosses his arms, frowning as he goes on. “It releases more toxic fumes than dry wood!”

“Wow, really? Huh.” The older scratches at his head before shrugging. “Well, we’re just gonna have to do it farther away!” He finishes before he walks back to the wooden seat and starts digging around for something.

Lio’s eyes dart around the field, in search of a sign that someone might catch them, arrest them, send them to jail and have to call his parents. Even though he’s never actually seen a soul once in these fields other than a few cars passing by, his mind won’t stop thinking about the potential consequences of their antics. He runs to Galo’s side. “Shouldn’t we have an adult with us, at least? So that they can keep an eye on us?” His proposition comes out as a whine, and he hates it.

“We’ll be fine! Firecrackers don’t cause that much fire. ‘Sides,” He says as he brandishes a big red can (Lio’s eyes widen. It’s about the _ size of Galo’s torso _), out of his backpack--”Mom gave me this!”

The smaller boy blinks and lifts a hand to point at the object. “Is that a... small fire extinguisher?"

“Yeah.”

“You hauled that over here? In your backpack?”

“Yeah!”

Lio blinks and sighs. “Yeah, o-okay.” How strong is this kid?

Galo didn’t seem to know what Lio was so bewildered about and simply put the extinguisher back in the bag before hauling it over his shoulder (nearly hitting Lio in the process), grabbing the firecrackers and walking out of the shade.

“C’mon! I promise that nothing will happen!” He thumps his chest with his fist, other hand balled up into a fist at his hip. “As long as I’m here, nothing will hurt you, Lio!”

Galo’s grin is almost as bright as the sun above them. Lio squints and looks off to the side. His hands ball up into fists. He knows he shouldn’t be afraid. He needs to be brave. He can’t appear weak. Especially to someone he barely knows. But...

After a moment, out of the corner of his eye, he sees Galo’s outstretched hand. He looks up and meets Galo’s eyes, the smile under them surprisingly gentle. His own mouth opens, but no voice comes out.

“You better keep that promise.” He says as he turns his head away with a huff and starts walking to the field behind the bus stop, leaving a dumbfounded Galo to follow in his footsteps.

When he catches up with Lio enough to walk by his side, he smiles again and makes an ‘x’ across his chest with his finger. “Cross my heart!”

Lio rolls his eyes.

The wind blows past them.

🔻

🔻

🔻

“Here we go.” Galo shrugs off the backpack and it hits the ground with a loud ‘thud’, startling Lio out of his thoughts.

They stopped at a rather big circle of dirt, where the grass suddenly stops growing. There was nothing very eye-catching about it, save for a few cement blocks forming around the middle.

“Is this a… campfire?”

“I guess?” The taller answers(?), as he starts lifting the blocks one by one, moving them closer to the direction that they came from, close to the grass. “Mom, dad and I found it while we were biking here last year. We put some sticks together, and lit a fire here! We roasted marshmallows!”

“Your parents seem…” Lio hugs his arms to his body. “Adventurous.”

He turns around for a split second towards Lio before resuming his task, whatever it is. “Like, they like adventure? Yeah!” He grunts as another block gets in place. “Mom is a sports coach, so she runs a lot. I joined a summer course where she works, actually! But she hurt her leg some time ago, so she just has me run around so that I stay in shape.” He stops dragging the cement to flex one of his arms, muscle very much not visible, but with how much strength Galo had displayed today, Lio was inclined to believe him.

“And your dad?”

“My dad’s the _ best _!” He suddenly starts bouncing around, and Lio jolts. “He studies Japanese history! He’s Japanese and tells me aaaaall about mythology and history of Japan and stuff! He’s a info--um. Anthra… Anf…uh...” His smile suddenly falls and he stops jumping, instead looking around frantically and squeezing his hands together as he tries to remember the word.

The shorter tilts his head. “...Anthropologist?”

And as if a switch turned on, Galo’s smile comes back. “YEAH! Infrapologist! He learns all that stuff for money! It’s the _ coolest _!” He does a few twirls as he laughs. Lio couldn’t help but smile at his antics, seeing the other boy so carefree. To have such parents he openly looks up to and gushes about.

Lio wishes that could be him.

His own smile fades just in time as Galo stops spinning and falls on the ground, still laughing.

“My dad’s the one that got me the firecrackers, actually. But when mom saw them, she like, _ zoomed _ out of the house to find a home depot. I got a whole lecture about fire hazards! That’s, uh, also part of the reason I’m late. Sorry.” Galo scratches at his head. He seemed genuinely apologetic, and, well, Lio wasn’t mad at Galo for being late anymore (he was so distracted by having eaten a bug that he completely forgot), so maybe this feeling in his chest was him feeling sorry for him now? Is this how arguments work when either party abstains from using silent treatment?

“I’m not mad anymore.” Lio brushes back a lock of his hair behind his ear. “If anything, I’m glad you were late if it meant your mum made you take safety precautions.”

“Haha, yeah,” Galo laughs, his shoulders shaking. “Probably for the best that my mom’s a big ol' softie, right? Oh! Right!” Galo’s eyes widen as he swiftly jumps from his back to his legs (Lio’s mouth takes an ‘o’ shape at the display). “Have you ever set off fireworks and stuff before?” Galo asks as he pushes the last of the blocks to its place, now in a blockade-like line of cement blocks. _ ‘Ah. It’s cover.’ _

“No… just watched fireworks on new years.”

“Well, let me tell ya somethin’, Lio! There’s only one thing better than watching explosives getting set off!” His hands grab the boy’s shoulders. “It’s settin’ them off _ yourself _.”

“O-okay.”

“Okay, so what you do, basically, is--” Galo grabs the firecrackers, which have been laying by the backpack up until now, and throws them unceremoniously in the middle of the dirt patch. “Ya put ‘em aaaaaall close together, so that the fuses can get set off all at once, like a chain reaction…”

Lio already doesn’t like this.

The boy goes back to his backpack and unzips a small pocket on its side, brandishing a long lighter from it. “Then you set ‘em off and run like heck!”

“That sounds dumb and incredibly dangerous. Especially for small kids like us.”

Galo waves the lighter around, stopping when he flicks it to life, and wiggles his eyebrows.

Lio puts on his most menacing smile. “Let’s do it.”

“Nice!” Galo flicks the lighter off and throws it toward Lio. “Here you go!”

Lio barely has time to react and takes a step forward just in time so his hands can reach out to catch the lighter. “Wait, what?” He looks up in a panic.

“I’ve set stuff on fire before. You haven’t. So, you do it!”

“But--!” Lio stands up straight, hands shaking and clutching at the lighter, not sure if he should hold on tight or drop it to the ground. “I’ve never--! No! I’ll get burned!”

“They don’t set off immediately, you’ll be fine--”

“_ No!! No I won’t!! _ ” Lio shouts so loud that even Galo’s taken aback. “I’ll get hurt, I’ll set something on fire! I’ll set the field on fire and it’ll all be _ my fault! _”

“Hey.” Galo voice is surprisingly even as he crouches, hand on the ground.

“I don’t wanna go to jail!” One of his hands hold the lighter tighter as the other goes to wipe at his face. “Or my parents to find out! Dad will get mad and mum will get mad and Engel will--!!”

He feels a hand land above his, the one with the lighter. “Hey, Lio.”

The boy doesn’t pull the arm away from his face. “What!?”

“Look at this.”

Lio sniffs and waits a moment for his shirt to absorb his stupid, pathetic tears before he lifts his hand just slightly to look down.

He sees Galo’s hand holding a thin, but rather long twig. He wiggles it.

“See this?”

He nods. “Uh-huh.”

“This won’t explode if it burns right?”

“N-no.”

“Then how about you try setting this on fire? And then running away as soon as you do?” Lio sees Galo get down on his knees next, most likely to get a better look at Lio, if his reassuring smile is anything to go by. “We’ll practice! And if you still feel nervous, ya can watch me do it instead! Or we can just pack ‘em up and do something else.”

“I’m not a coward.” Lio says instead, in a weird moment of defiance, of wanting to prove himself. Prove himself in what? To who? To Galo? To himself?

“No, you’re not.” Galo agrees. “You ate a grasshopper.”

Lio laughs. It’s a weak, hoarse laugh.

Galo is silent after that, but Lio can see that he’s still kneeling in front of him, as well as holding his hand, its tremors gradually dissipating. 

Eventually, Lio wipes his face with his sleeve, now dirty with tears and snot, and reveals his eyes. His chin is craned so low it's practically touching his chest, however, so the elder takes it upon himself to make eye contact. He hops towards the boy.

“Hi.”

“Hey.” Lio’s voice is a little weak. But Galo doesn’t mind.

“You good?”

Lio doesn’t know how to answer, so he just says, “Okay.”

Galo then stands up and Lio hears a sniff.

His head shoots up to look at the other boy and sees him mimicking his pose from a moment ago. Right down to the tears running down his cheeks, and his arm covering his eyes.

“Galo…” Lio whispers and steps closer, putting away the lighter in his small pocket and stretching out his hands towards the boy. If he sounds exasperated, it’s only because it’s how he always is. But right now, he’s worried, even if he doesn’t know how to convey it.

So he slides his hands under Galo’s arm and puts them on his cheeks.

Galo is sufficiently surprised enough to pull his arm away and reveal his eyes. They look so sad, and all just because Lio was sad, too.

He doesn’t know how to handle this. How to handle someone who’s so hellbent on trying to understand him that they start crying because he did, too.

So he rubs his hands on Galo’s squished cheeks, wiping away the tears the best he can. Based on Galo’s annoyed “Mmpf,” he’s most likely being a little rough, but…

Lio realizes he’s never had contact like this with someone outside his family. Ever.

“Are you dokay?”

Lio practically sees the sadness in Galo’s eyes transform into confusion as he frowns. “What?”

The shorter realizes what he had said and looks away. “I wanted to say ‘are you okay?’ and ‘are you done’ at the same time. And then I guess I decided to say both.”

Galo blinks. Blinks twice. Thrice. And then, he closes his eyes.

Lio feels the boy’s cheeks puff up before he starts laughing loudly, uproariously. He laughs so hard that he clutches at his stomach and leans his head to Lio’s shoulder.

Galo’s enormous empathy must be contagious, because Lio starts laughing too. They laugh so much that Galo grabs on to Lio’s shirt and drags him down to the ground with him. Lio lets out a ‘oof’ before resuming his laughter.

They hang on to each other's shirts until they stop laughing and need to start gulping for air instead. They both wipe at their faces to erase any remaining traces of tears, their expressions now returning to their default ‘dumb, smiling idiot’ and ‘resting quiet kid face’.

But the knowledge that that just happened, whatever it was, stays between them.

And in their clothes. The dirt made their pants all brown. Surprisingly, Lio cares only a little.

He reaches into his pocket and brandishes the lighter again, holding it in both hands.

“Let’s try.”

Galo seems a bit surprised, but he stays like that only for a moment before he wipes at his nose with a thumb and nods. “Yeah!”

Galo proceeds to teach Lio how to properly hold the lighter (“One hand is enough, Lio. It’s not gonna run away.” “It might slip.” “Not with how tightly you’re clutching that thing, it won’t.”), strengthening Lio’s thumb’s power (turning the thing on was a challenge in itself) and then the main exercise.

“Bend your legs a little.”

Lio did as he was told. “Okay.”

“Slide your farther foot to side, so your body knows where it’ll want to go.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah, like that.” Galo then steps back and brandishes the twig, its end just a hair’s breadth away from the lighter. It’s like a sword fight, Lio thinks, except they’re using a household appliance and a small branch. It’d be funny if they weren’t so serious about this. Lio’s suddenly _ very _ glad there aren’t any adults around to see them like this.

“Ready?”

“Okay. Yeah.” He nods.

The wind blows past them.

Like an audience waiting for the battle to start.

“NOW!”

Lio flicks the lighter to life and as soon as he sees the twig catching fire, he bolts. Just as Galo instructed him to.

He doesn’t run very far, just a ways away from the dirt circle, but it’s enough distance for him to see Galo put the branch in the ground and kick sand at it, with a thumbs up afterwards.

Lio smiles.

He hopes he’s far away enough that Galo can’t see it.

They repeat the process a couple of times, until the shine in their blood-shot eyes, initially from tears, have turned into sparks of curiosity.

Then it was time for the big event.

“Ya sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah.” He turns to Galo and nods resolutely. “Thanks.”

“Okay, then.” Galo steps behind the small cement wall he built and gives Lio another thumbs-up, along with his signature-by-now grin. “Whenever you’re ready, dude.”

Lio turns to the firecrackers, taking a deep breath as he steps forward. He recalls the form Galo showed him. He spreads his legs and bents them, a reasonable distance away from the potential fire.

He then clicks the button on the lighter, holds his breath, and pulls the flame close to the fuse.

The moment he hears a crackle, he runs, and sees Galo arms stretched wide towards him.

Without thinking, he ignores his initial plan to go around the small brick cover and instead hops over the wall, jumping right into Galo’s chest.

He feels himself being spun to the elder boy’s right before he’s hastily let go and put on the ground beside him.

“Cover your ears!” Galo warns despite the smile on his face, and Lio follows his example once again.

They both turn to the firecrackers and watch them come to life in a blaze.

Lio lets out a yelp and crouches down. Initially startled, he gets used to the muffled noise of insistent popping as he opens his eyes again to see the lights flickering quickly. Through his covered ears, he hears Galo laugh beside him, now taking cover as well.

The smoke from the firecrackers lifts up into the sky in a shapeless-cloud, and his breath comes short as the show continues.

When the noise slowly begins to come less rapidly, Lio uncovers his ears and starts taking deeper breaths.

Aftre the final the firecracker breathes its last, he feels a weight barrel into his side, and realizes Galo’s hugging him.

“You did it! You did it!” He laughs, as he stands up, Lio in tow.

“I-I did!”

“You did!! _ You did _ !! It was _ awesome _!!” Galo says as he tries to throw Lio into the air with little success, and settles for just hugging him really tightly and jumping up and down.

“I was awesome!!” Lio laughs, and smiles, he lets himself go as he starts jumping a little too, and wraps his arms around Galo’s as an attempt to return the hug.

They eventually stop and let go of eachother, stepping back. “So?” The taller asks, hands on his hips. “How was your first self-made firework show?”

“It was just a few firecrackers, nothing big.” Lio re-adjusts his suspenders, uncharacteristically shy. “But… it was cool.”

“Right!?” The boy laughs and the other can’t help but join in.

“Okay, let’s clean this up.” He says, walking towards the charred remains of the firecrackers. “Leaving litter behind is bad, Lio.” He adds, sounding like the older of the two of them, for once.

“I know that.” Lio rolls his eyes and follows him.

His clothes are already smeared with green and brown splotches. A little more dirty work won’t hurt.

The sun is setting, though. He’ll have to hurry up before his parents come home.

Galo hands Lio a plastic bag (is that backpack of his some kind of pocket space?) and the younger starts shovelling the used-up sticks into it at lightning speed.

As he does though, he hears Galo speak up. “Do you know what smoke signals are?”

Lio turns to Galo and sees him looking up at the sky, the firecracker he’s holding persisting to keep on burning as its fuse continues to exude smoke.

“It’s a form of communication when groups who are far away from each other want to send a call for help. Or, to gather people together.” Provides Lio.

“Yeah.”

Silence.

“And?” He tries to spurn the conversation on.

Galo blinks and cranes his neck away from the sky to look at Lio for a few seconds before resuming collecting the char.

“Promise you won’t tell anyone?”

“As long as you don’t tell anyone I ate a bug.”

The taller laughs a little and plops another stick into his own plastic bag.

“Burnish use fire, right?”

Lio blinks and resumes his own task as they continue their talk. “Yeah?”

“So they make smoke, right?”

“Yeah?”

He hears a thud and it distracts him from cleaning up again. He stands up fully to see Galo sitting on the ground, looking up at the twilight sky.

“Do you think they use fire as a call for help?”

“They use it to burn things.”

“Yeah, but…”

“Half of the world has been burned to the ground by Burnish.” Lio interrupts. “I think if they needed help, someone surely has noticed by now and tried to solve whatever issue it is they want help with.”

“But what if it’s not enough?”

Lio squints. “What?”

“What if they want to signal something but adults are so afraid of Burnish they ignore the like, messages in the smoke, ‘cuz they focus on the fire instead?” He finally turns to Lio. “You know?”

“No…” Lio crosses his arms. “I don’t.”

“Like…” Galo persists, crossing his legs. “When a kid is crying--”

“You’re using me as an example.”

“Yes, shush.”

Lio groans.

“When a _ baby _ cries, an adult tries to ask them what’s wrong. But, they can’t say, ‘cuz they’re a baby. So the adult tries everything they can to calm them down but then eventually give up and leave the kid be or try to shake it or something. But the baby keeps crying ‘til it gets tired and falls asleep, and when it wakes up it just cries again.” 

“I suppose. And your point is?”

“I dunno… I guess…” Galo scratches at his head as he looks at the burns firecrackers around him.

“I just know what it feels like to not be helped ‘cuz no one will listen to you or try to understand you.”

Lio focuses in the dark so he can see Galo’s eyes. He looks so far away.

“I wonder if Burnish are like that, too.”

Lio stands still. Time seems to have stopped, too.

“Mm.” Lio responds as best he can at the moment. “Me too.”

The wind blows past them.

Galo swiftly stands up and Lio is brought out of the reverie. “C’mon let’s clean this up! It’s getting dark.” He smiles, as if the conversation never happened.

But well, Lio supposes, as he nods and resumes picking up the trash, this was the part of the ‘don’t tell anyone’ thing.

He remembers the far-away look in Galo's eyes.

Lio wonders how much there can be to one person.

He shakes his head and starts collecting the firecrackers faster.

The hot summer wind blows past them.

🔻

🔻

🔻

Lio trips on nothing, regaining his stance just in time. “Ow.”

“You okay?”

They had just arrived at the bus stop and put away Galo’s things next to his bike, as well as the used up firecrackers (Galo insisted on throwing them away on his way back. “You’ll probably get in trouble if they find you with them, right?” He said. The boy just nodded.) when the shorter hissed and grabbed at his knee. Lio doesn’t want to cause a fuss of worry Galo, goodness forbid he starts crying again, but he doesn’t think he’ll buy any of the younger boy’s excuses. “It’s nothing, just… my legs…”

“Do they hurt?”

“Mhm.” He nods.

“We did walk around a lot today, didn’t we… Hmm…” The older boy puts a hand to his chin, before he snaps fingers, turns around and kneels.

“Climb on up!”

“What? No, I couldn’t--”

“I ain’t letting you limp all the way back home, and I don’t wanna take the bike.” He turns his head just enough so he can look at Lio. “I wanna talk with you a bit more!”

Lio gulps, fiddling with his suspenders. Their feelings were the same on the matter, huh.

“Fine.” He stomps over to Galo, putting his legs under the other boy’s arms, and his arms around his neck. He was initially going to put them on his shoulders, but Engel’s given him enough piggyback rides to know that’s just a recipe for disaster, and a broken spine.

“Alley-oop!” He’s only just settled on Galo’s back before the taller suddenly stands up, making Lio yelp and cling to him tighter, hands and legs and all.

“Let’s-a-go!” He announces, walking the path along the road towards the summer home.

“This is the first time we aren’t taking the path through the field together…” Lio says as notices the setting sun.

“Oh, yeah! I guess it is, huh?”

They (or just Galo, Lio guesses) walk in silence for a little while before Galo starts the conversation up once more.

“Soooooo, about our deal...”

“Deal?” Lio cocks his head. He doesn’t remember them making a de--

“Oh.” He does now.

“Not only did I get you to smile…” Galo’s turns his head and his grin is downright menacing. “You also laughed! A _ lot! _”

Lio lifts his head away from Galo’s face, blushing. “W-well, that’s…”

“Lio,” He interrupts, with that soft tone again. “Did you have fun today?”

The younger blinks and looks back on today.

Has it really been only a day? In the span of about four hours, Lio’s already had the most fun than he remembers having in his previous summer trips. And it’s only the second day.

Lio closes his eyes, letting his chin fall on Galo’s shoulder. “Mhm. A lot. Thank you.”

He hears the other huff in amusement. “You’re smiling again.”

And as soon as that comes out of his mouth, Lio’s smile and he opens his eyes, giving his best ‘not amused’ face. “Got a problem with it? I thought you wanted me to do it more.”

“I do! ‘Cuz I like your smile!” Galo laughs and grins wide. “You look beautiful when you’re happy, Lio!”

Lio’s breath hitches, and he can’t think up any witty comeback, only burrow his face into Galo’s sweaty shirt.

“Boys can’t be beautiful, stupid.”

“Tell that to my mom. She gushes how pretty dad is like, fourice a week.”

“Bloke. You’re all blokes.” It comes out muffled, but the other’s giggle tells him that it reached Galo’s ears. And that’s enough for them to know how the other is feeling.

Human relationships are so odd.

God, he’s starting to think like an alien. He really _ does _ need to socialize more.

“So! Since the Great Galo Thymos succeeded in not only making you smile multiple times, but also _ laugh _ , he doth demand a whole _ month _ of thee company, milord!”

“Oh my gosh, _ stop that _.” Whines Lio, outwardly cringing. “You sound like a tryhard.”

“How do you know _ that _word?”

“Engel calls me that when we play board games.”

“Oh, that explains it.”

It then sinks in.

A whole month.

His arms tense up around Galo’s neck.

“Lio?”

Better rip the bandage off nice and quick, like mum always says.

“I’m only here for a week. I’m leaving on Sunday.”

Galo stops midstep.

He looks to the sunset, then at the pavement.

“Oh.” He says.

And then starts walking again, noticeably slower this time.

The wind is still.

Lio is about to say something. Apologize, crack a joke (even though he’s bad at anything that isn’t backhanded insults. He blames Engel), say _ anything _.

But Galo beats him to the punch as he re-adjusts his grip on the boy.

“Then,” He starts, picking up his pace and throwing a smile over his shoulder. “You’re just gonna have to spend the whole week with me!”

The shorter boy’s eyes widen.

He didn’t know what to say before, but he sure knows what he _ wants _ to say.

So he smiles and lets himself let his honest words come out.

“I’d love to!”

Galo laughs. It’s somehow even more mesmerising during twilight.

He then starts walking faster until he’s practically jogging. His hair gets in Lio’s face and he complains, but he just laughs and tells him to deal with it.

Lio starts laughing too. The wind may not be in his favor, but he doesn’t care.

This trip suddenly doesn’t feel so bad anymore.

The wind rushes past them as Galo continues running, Lio clinging to his neck.

🔻

🔻

🔻

Galo slows to a stop. “We’re here!” He announces, out of breath.

Lio slides off his back and onto the grass, right before Galo flops on it and pants for air.

Lio kneels down, lips tilted up in a smirk. “Thank you for the lift.”

“Youuu’re weeeelcoooome.” He drawls, and the younger notices his left hand is positioned in a thumbs-up. Lio laughs.

“Try to keep off the grass and more on the path, please.” A voice suddenly calls out to them, and they both shoot up. “We just mowed the lawn.

“Engel!”

“Welcome back, milord.” The butler bows, and turns his gaze to the boy next to the child, who is currently brushing off any remaining grass in his hair. After noticing he’s being gawked at, though, he smiles and bows, at an almost ninety degree angle. Lio is so surprised his mouth falls open.

“I’m Galo Thymos, eleven years old! I live in Promepolis!” He straightens his posture as quickly as he bowed. Lio actually takes a step back that time. “It’s nice to meet you, sir!”

Unlike Lio, the man actually seems amused, even impressed. He bows his head with a bright smile. “My name is Engel, I am master Lio’s personal butler.” He says in a _ perfect american accent _ unlike his usual british one. Galo gasps loudly as he grabs Lio’s arm, shaking it fervently as the direction of his head switches between the boy and the man repeatedly. ‘ _ Told you so’ _ Lio communicates with a shrug and sly smile.

“Do be patient with him, he’s quite the stuffed shirt, but he’s a good lad.”

“Engel...” Lio whines. ‘_ Not in front of him _.’

“I dunno what a stuffed shirt is, but Lio’s cool! I like him!” Galo smiles wider as he takes a step closer to Lio and throws his arm over his shoulder.

“Galo…!” Lio whines _ louder _. Is this Lio Fotia embarrassment central or something?

Apparently it is, because the next thing Engel says is, “So this is your dream boy, milord. Less dark and brooding than I had expected from your tastes.”

Lio chokes on his own spit and seizes up like a cat, face absolutely boiling. “_ Engellll!! _” He screeches through clenched teeth and fists at his sides, ready to go up and swing them into the old man’s knees.

Galo, who has no context of the situation, cocks his head to the side like cute, confused little puppy, and Lio can only whimper like one when he looks at him and then puts his face in his hands.

“Ignore him. _ Please _.”

“? Okay?” He says, still smiling.

Engel claps his hands. “Alright, enough of that.” He stops forward and kneels, looking over Lio’s stained clothes and skin. “You’re not hurt, godforbid?” He then turns to Galo, smiling in a menacing way that he does whenever he wants to threaten a maid into fessing up who ate the cookies meant for the guests. “Because if you are, I might have to inflict the same wounds upon this youngster as payback.”

Lio immediately protests, grabbing at his lapels. “Engel, don’t hurt Galo!”

Galo takes a fighting stance as he rolls back his shirt sleeve. “If he is bruised, I’ll punch myself in the same spot!”

Engel and Lio quickly interrupt him, hands coming up towards the boy to stop him.

“_ Nononono- _-!”

“Uh _ PLEASE _ don’t--I was kidding, I’m joking!”

“Oh, okay.”

The two tourists push their hair back, Engel messing up his pompadour a little in the process. “Oh, goodness, you’ve found a wild one, haven’t you, now?”

“Uh-huh.” The little master sighs.

Engel shakes his head. “Let’s clean you up before the sir and missus come back. Can’t have you sprinkle dirt out of your hair for the outing tomorrow, now.”

Lio blinks. “Outing?”

“Don’t you remember, sire? You and your folks are going to the city tomorrow."

“Oh… yeah.” He completely forgot. They do one or two trips to the city every time they’re here, but all they do is window shop and walk a lot. Nothing worth remembering. So it totally slipped the boy’s mind.

He turns to Galo, and the far off look on his face is back. He doesn’t like it.

So he walks up to the other child and grabs his hand.

“Tomorrow won’t work out, but I’ll make sure to be free the rest of the week.” He tries to imitate the boy’s smirk as he squeezes his hand tighter. “I promise.”

The shine in Galo’s eyes is back, and it’s everything Lio could’ve asked for.

“Got it!”

He squeezes Lio’s hand right back, but with both hands, and the boy endures the pain in his fingers. The sunrise is making a shadow fall over the side of Galo’s face, and lighting up the other. He looks even more dreamlike like this, he thinks.

Galo steps back, and bows. “Lio, mister Engel," He salutes. “See you later!”

“Bye, Galo.”

“Have a safe trip home.”

They wave him goodbye and Galo returns it, flailing his arms as he runs to the entrance to the lawn and to the west, becoming only a shadow on the road as the sun disappears.

Lio feels a hand on his shoulder.

“You actually got a friend.” Engel still hasn’t reverted back his British accent, and his sob sounds so real it’s falseness is downright transparent. “I’m so proud.”

“Shut up.” Lio growls, flustered.

The man sniffs and immediately reverts back to butler mode. “Really though, you stink. Let’s get you in the bath.”

“Yeah… good idea.”

A bubble bath after a long, but fun day, accompanied by a five-star dinner prepared by his jack-of-all-trades butler.

His parents still aren’t back, but Lio expects he’ll sleep well tonight.

🔻

🔻

🔻

_“I’m not a coward.” Lio says, wiping at his face._

_“No, you’re not.” Galo agrees. “You are a grasshopper.”_

_Lio laughs. It’s a weak, hoarse lau_

_Wait, huh?_

_He lifts away his arm to look at Galo, but is distracted by what should be his arm -- it's just a hairy, fuzzy bug leg. _

_Lio yelps and looks down at Galo. The stick he's holding is infested with grasshoppers._

_"You are what you eat, Lio!"_

_He gasps. He grabs at his face, his hair short, his eyes huge, his hands non-existent-- _

_GrassLiopper screams._

Lio shoots up in his bed, panting heavily.

He looks down at his arms and folds his sleeves back. 

No hair. No hair at all. He has his fingers. Human fingers. His skin is as human and hairless and smooth as a baby's bottom. 

Lio chokes on his breath.

"_ Eaaargh. _ " The child retches, sliding off the bed. " _ Eeeeeeeeeh. _" He gags and makes weird noises all the way to the bathroom connected to his bedroom.

He rinses his mouth three times. Four, actually, for good measure.

When he's back in bed, Lio muses that it wasn't the taste of the bug that was bad. Just the texture. Too soft. He prefers his fruit and vegetables with a hard core, so naturally it would be the same with bu--

It's like, five in the morning. He should sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Incidentally, i finished writing this at 5am
> 
> would you believe me if i said the dream part was inspired by autocorrect?
> 
> Also, if the phrase "the wind blows past" shows up a lot, i know. Does it have a purpose? Who knows. I dont. I think. Maybe??
> 
> S/O to promare hell discord ( 'w')/ <3


	3. Day Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Breaking news! Local forty-nine year old man third-wheeling on a playdate between two elementary schoolers while being painfully single himself
> 
> “You know, things could be a lot worse.”

Lio lies awake in bed, mouth open, arms spread out, his throat raspy and eyelids heavy.

Today’s already off to a good start.

He kept falling in and out of sleep for the past five hours, and everytime he thought he was finally going to get some rest, the image of fluffy bug legs popped in his mind and he was wide awake again.

He hears his parents’ voices getting closer, and he almost thinks they’re going to wake him up, before they fade farther away into the estate once more.

He’ll push for a few more minutes of sleep. He’s probably gonna fall asleep in the car, but it’s a very short ride, so better take whatever he can. He’s going to complain non-stop once they’re in the city anyway, but a whiny _ and _ sleepy Lio Fotia is something even Engel can’t control.

There’s distant shouting. It’s not even aggressive, from what he can tell, but it’s enough to make him sigh.

He curls up in his sheets.

He already wants today to be over.

🔻

🔻

🔻

He sees Mum in the hall, and despite his initial plan to sulk through the entire day, he jogs up to her and hugs her. “Good morning.” He greets, muffled against her long, white dress.

“Good morning, luv.” She pats his head and bends down to kiss his forehead (still covered by his messy fringe, but the contact makes Lio feel warm either way) before taking his small hand in hers. They walk together to the kitchen at a slow pace. “Everything okay over here? Holding down the fort with Engel?”

Lio trips. She quickly steadies him. “Yes.” He replies.

“Still sleepy, hm? My little watchguard,” She laughs, “Must’ve stayed up late while waiting for us, I assume?”

“Mhm.” Lio responds. His parents are basically used to him speaking almost nil, so one-word responses are enough for them (until they aren’t). He’s still is a bit afraid of bringing up Galo, so he decides to simply act like he didn’t spend all day yesterday walking around with a spry city boy and hope Engel gets the hint. (He doesn’t need to worry about the maids. They’re too afraid of Engel to go against his orders. Lio loves Engel, sometimes.)

“Come now, I’ll let you sip some of my coffee.”

“Eww…” Lio retches for the fifth time today.

“I’ll throw in lots of milk and sugar just for you, don’t you worry your little head.” He can _ hear _ her eyes rolling.

Still sleepy, Lio walks with his mother to the kitchen while mostly leaning on her.

He lets himself accept the coddling, enjoy it, just for a moment.

🔻

🔻

🔻

When they get to the kitchen, Lio’s dad is at the table, tapping away at his tablet. The three of them sit at their respective seats as the servants bring them their breakfast, but only two engage in conversation, with Engel sometimes interrupting the flow to make a joke and make Lio’s dad laugh (and his mother roll her eyes).

The car business is a little bit too hard to understand for Lio. Sure, cars look cool, but he doesn’t really see himself wanting to sell away cool things like that instead of driving them himself. And even then, his hands get jittery when he grabs the handlebar of a bicycle. He can’t see himself ever driving a car. Guess he’s doomed to have someone driving him to and fro forever.

When his parents finish their portions, they stand up to leave. “We’ll be leaving in about an hour.” Says Lio’s dad. “Get Lio ready, would you, Engel?”

“Of course, sire.”

Lio chews at his food even slower after the door to the kitchen closes, muffling his parent’s voices.

“Engel?” The young heir speaks up after gulping down his bacon.

“Yes?” The butler responds from his station at the kitchen sink.

“What’s your first name?”

He wipes his hands as he turns in order to look at the boy. “Four years I’ve served you, yet you still don’t remember my full name?” Engel puts a hand to his chest in mock pain. “I’m hurt, sire.”

“I mean, mum and dad don’t ever call you anything else.”

His face then blanks as his eyes dart around before scrunching up. “Hm. When you put it like that.” Engel responds before walking to the table and taking a seat. He often lets his formal self go when he’s around Lio, and the boy is thankful for that. It’s always ‘Excuse me’ with deep bows and ‘Pardon my rudeness’ with stiff poses. His personal butler lets himself slack in the chair and prop his chin on the back of his hand. He may be much older, but he’s perhaps the best friend Lio has, someone he can talk to.

But of course, it’s his job to be friendly to him, so Lio can never be too happy about the man’s companionship without hearing his mother’s stern voice and the smile that was sneaking up on his face slithers back, his face turning blank once more.

He looks at Engel’s lazy smile, and thinks back to Galo’s sunshine grin.

The smile on his face right now comes surprisingly easy.

“Names are an important thing, aren’t they?” Engel starts. It’s not on the subject, but the boy doesn’t mind.

“Well, yes. It’s how you remember people.”

“But there are also many people who share my name. Hundreds. Maybe thousands.” He continues and fiddles with the curl of his pompadour as he looks back at Lio. “Master Lio, let me tell you this.” He stands up straight, and Lio follows suit. “Names are a dime-a-dozen. You’ll find many Lio’s, many Engel’s, many people who share the names of your mother and father. Many Galo’s.” Lio jolts. “What’s important to remember is the look in the person’s eye, their features. Their quirks which can only come from a person with their personality.” He folds his arms together at the table, looking down at it. He opens and closes his mouth before he directs his smile at Lio again. “‘A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet’. Do you know this line?”

Lio shakes his head.

“It’s from Romeo and Juliet. Juliet says this when she declares that she does not care if her lover’s surname is that of her family’s rival as long as they can be together.” He explains. “Mind you, Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy and _ not _ a good romance. Remember that when you eventually read it during your studies.”

“O...kay.”

“Anyway…” He stands up and walks around the table to stand near Lio. “What I mean is, names come and go, and can be replaced. But someone’s feelings cannot. So one day, when you grow up and you cannot remember one’s name, or if they look so different that you may not recognize them anymore…” He thrusts a pointer finger at Lio’s chest, startling him. “Look into their soul, and you will know for sure.”

“But…” Lio shakes his head. “I don’t know how to do that.”

“In time, you’ll learn romance, milord.” Engel shrugs and walks back to the kitchen sink, but not before stopping halfway.

“Oh, and by the by, it’s Luca.”

“Huh. No wonder they don’t call you that.”

“You’re friends with a boy called ‘Galo’, milord.”

“Yeah, but he’s cool to make up for it.”

Engel gasps so loud he turns around, hand pressed to his chest.

“Is this punishment for beating you at Monopoly a week ago!?”

“Yes.”

“I should’ve known revenge shalt come in such a twisted manner.” He balls his hand into a fist, shaking it as he grits his teeth. “Mine own master hath turned against me.”

“The bowl in the sink is overflowing.”

“Oh, bollocks.” The tone of his voice goes from overdramatic to mildly concerned so quickly and easily that Lio can’t help but laugh.

At least this morning is nice. 

🔻

🔻

🔻

Luca--Engel helps Lio get dressed up for the outing. He’s wearing a short sleeved shirt today and no suspenders, just black shorts. Still no less different from his usual attire, but at least his shoulders can rest. He also notices his legs didn’t hurt as much as they did yesterday. Maybe Engel was right, he does need to get some exercise in. It doesn’t seem so bad now.

Engel readies the limousine they used to drive to the summer home, leading it out to the road before Lio’s parents and him get in.

They’re mostly silent for the entire ride.

They stop at the square, Engel leaving the limousine in some secluded, private parking lot, where it won’t bother people with normal cars.

The city hasn’t changed since Lio had last seen it. Same clothing stores, same department stores, same restaurants… there are a few stands with food and drink names that elude him, but his parents don’t even slow down to stare at them.

He sticks by Engel’s side as his father, mother and her personal maid walk ahead, window shopping and not actually buying anything, as he had predicted. 

When they finally enter a clothing store that caught his mother’s eye, with fancy dresses and suits, he takes a seat by the entrance as Engel goes on to help carry his parents’ things while they try the outfits on.

He puts his face in his hands as the watches the people go by from the entrance.

Lio sees family, friends, in colorful outfits and social lives going in all different directions. Is it really possible that all of these people, whose names Lio isn’t ever going to know, have their own home troubles, dreams, fears, problems? Everything that’s happening in Lio’s young mind, it’s only going to get worse from here. Is it the same for every person that he sees zoom past him, too?

The blue-haired teenager walking hand-in-hand with his blonde, pretty girlfriend, that red-haired man in a baseball cap running somewhere in a hurry, that tall blonde man linking arms with another guy talking his ear off, the two pink-haired sisters crossing the street, laughing, that group of kids with red jackets jogging behind a tall man, one of the children having a haircut and color so similar to--

Lio gasps, stands up from the cushion and runs just outside the entrance.

The group of children stop at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn green, and as some take a sip of water from their bottles, he sees him.

“Galo…!” Lio says, but doesn’t shout. He wishes he could. But they’re in a city. He doesn’t want to cause a scene, so he just stares at the boy from afar, on the other side of the road, and hope he’ll notice him.

He’s wearing something different than yesterday, he realizes. Other than the red jacket with white stripes that all the other kids he’s with are wearing, he’s wearing a black shirt (or tank top, he’s too far away for Lio to distinguish one from the other) and loose, gray pants, as well as sports shoes that seem well-suited for running. He also seems unusually serious, his face lacking his signature smile.

Lio fidgets where he’s standing, wringing his hands together. He looks around, but only for a second before bringing his sights back to Galo, worried he’ll disappear. He knows they can’t hang out today and he’s just having false hope and he will probably just bother Galo during an activity he likes _ and most likely is too busy having fun to spend even two minutes with someone boring and quiet and whiny like Lio when he has all these kids his age that he can talk t _

Galo’s looking his way. Lio takes a step further.

He’s waving at him now, the grin on his face wide enough for Lio to notice it, even from this distance, and he brings his own hand up to wave it high in the air, so the other boy will notice it too.

People are staring at them. He knows, because Galo’s group mates are looking at him weird, so adults walking by the store must be staring at Lio too, but he doesn’t care.

He saw Galo’s toothy, stupid grin and it just made his day all better, and his chest warmer.

He’s brought out of his stupor when someone grabs his moving hand.

“Lio, what are you doing?” His father’s stern voice asks.

Lio’s smile (when did that get there?) falls immediately. “Nothing.”

“There’s a group of kids over there.” He points out and Lio gulps, looking to the side, hoping he can still save himself from being caught. “Were you waving at them?”

His shoulders sag. “...Yes.”

“You kids are odd. Waving at whoever.” His father laughs. “Adults will just think I’m weird if I do that at a group of strangers.” _By_ _'adults' you mean yourself__? _“You youth have it so easy. Now, come in. People will think I have a crazy child if you continue doing that.” He tugs on Lio’s hand and leads him back into the store. “There’s air conditioning inside so you can cool your head off.”

“Okay.”

The older looks down. “‘Okay’?”

“Yes, dad.” Lio corrects himself.

“Better. Speak in long sentences. Otherwise people will think you’re a one-trick pony.”

“I understand, dad.”

“And remember--”

Lio tunes him out, nods and speaks more affirmations.

When he looks back at the street, the group of kids is gone.

🔻

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🔻

“How’s this, Lio?”

He shakes his head.

His mother puts the shirt away and walks to another rack of clothes, picking out another, identical-looking one.

“What about this?”

He shakes his head again.

She hums and puts away the cloth and sets off to another isle, Lio trailing after her.

It’s not that Lio’s against new clothes. He would actually love something new for a change. Except his mother’s definition of ‘change’ is a different collar, and maybe a bowtie with a square pattern if she’s feeling particularly adventurous.

Lio thinks back to all the stores they passed by on the way here. Colorful pinks and blues mixing together in a manner that the boy is not suited to call ‘fashionable’ because he knows nothing of fashion, but it’s definitely something striking. New. Unlike what Lio is used to.

‘_ And that’s not even all’ _ he thinks, turning around and staring at the display facing the outside of the store.

He was at that point in life where he thought that black and white meant formality and nothing else, but as he sees the jackets on display, spikes jutting out of their shoulders and multiple belts looping around its stomach, the leather pants accompanying it having zippers in places Lio doubts are comfortable or suited for storing things, but nevertheless, _ new._ _Interesting._ And Lio likes it.

He can barely imagine himself in it. It’s an incredibly blurry picture.

But it’s _ there_.

“Lio, luv?” His mother’s voice brings him out of his reverie, and the image is gone. “Do you want that?” She says over his shoulder, looking at the mannequin clothed in the leather attire.

Lio looks to her, eager, and nods. “Mhm.”

“Will you wear it?”

“Mhm!”

“Outside?”

“Um.” He falters. “Yes…”

“Honey, you don’t go outside that often, or for so long that you’d need to show off for anybody.” She shakes her head with a smile. “It’ll just pick up dust in your closet.”

“But--”

“Besides, a handsome boy like you is a rarity.” She continues as she stands up and pats his head. “Having someone so well-behaved as a son just to see him dress in leather suited for a delinquent would be a shame.”

Lio pouts, rubbing at his forearm. “I could wear it one day.”

“And for what, hun?” She sighs. “No reason to have something you have no use for.” ‘_Like people._’ she doesn’t say.

Despite her friendly exterior, Lio thinks as he blinks up at her visage, his mother is a stone-cold businesswoman who is as quick to make ties as she is to cut them. He’s seen families come into their home with a warm welcome, chatting and drinking with his parents while he and their child awkwardly sit in the next room, barely talking, only to stop coming over the next week. Mum doesn’t even look shaken about it everytime she does it. 

It scares Lio, sometimes, to think that one day it might be him in her position.

Lio Fotia, business expert that will be as quick to build bridges as he will be to burn them down.

He sits down.

“Lio?”

“I don’t feel good.” He chokes out. It’s not a lie, this time.

“Oh, dear. Engel?” She calls, immediately. Lio hangs his head low, so while he doesn’t see the butler come to them, he hears his footsteps.

“Take him outside, would you? I think being around so many people is getting to him.”

“Of course, milady. ...Come now, milord.” Lio sees Engel’s hand, and he takes it as he’s steadied to his feet and led out of the store.

The air is hot, and there is no wind, but it somehow still feels less stuffy than back there. Lio takes a deep breath.

“Master Lio, how are you?” The butler asks, and Lio looks up at him. “Do you need me to carry you?”

“My head’s spinning a little, but no, I’m fine. Thank you, Engel.” He forces a smile and it only lasts a second before he hangs his head again. “Can we go sit down?”

“Of course.” He complies and starts walking at a slow pace. “I imagine you need some time away from your parents, anywho.”

“Mm.”

It’s weird. Lio knows he’s had little sleep today, but he still feels rather fatigued. His eyes are closing, despite the sun still being high in the sky.

And so, without thinking, he mumbles; “I’m tired.”

Engel huffs. “Being around your folks will do that to you.”

🔻

🔻

🔻

Engel ended up having to carry Lio, after all. After he started slowing and Engel was basically dragging him along, he ‘tsk’d and picked him up. He muffled out a ‘sorry’ to his shoulder, but he just got a chuckle and a pat on the back. 

They eventually reached what seemed to be a park, full of greenery, unlike most of the city. Come to think of it, he hasn’t seen that many trees, despite this being his third visit in Promepolis now. That mystery hangs over his head as the man puts him down on a bench.

“Now you stay there, young man. I’ll go fetch some refreshments. Do _ not _ go anywhere. Understood?” He stresses, waving a pointer finger at Lio. The boy just nods, and it seems enough for the butler to quickly start running towards the way they came from. Lio marvels at his stamina, sometimes.

People with lots of energy are… scarily fascinating. Better than being just scary, Lio supposes.

And right as he was about to lay down on the bench and relax (more than he already had been. He apologizes to Engel once again, in his head), he hears footsteps halt right in front of him.

“Lio!”

His eyes fly open as he turns his head to the voice.

He blinks to make sure he’s not hallucinating and--sure enough, Galo’s standing right next to him, waving at him despite being a foot away.

“I missed ya, earlier!” He says, as he throws the backpack he’s been carrying on the ground under the bench and takes a seat next to Lio.

Lio doesn’t really have time to process the sentence as he blurts out, “I missed you, too.”

“Oh yeah, cuz I guess you didn’t see me leave with my group, huh?”

Oh. That kind of ‘miss’. “Yeah.”

Galo’s smile fades as he takes a proper look at the boy. “You okay, man? You look kinda pale.”

“Tired. Dizzy.” He shrugs. “Mum and Engel said it’s because I’m around too many people.”

“Do ya think that’s it?”

“Maybe. I don’t get to be around too many people all that much. Even mum and dad, so…”

“Huh.” Galo crosses his arms, face contorting into a pout as he nods. “That might be it.”

“Really?” Lio’s too exhausted to hide the disbelief in his voice as he lets his head fall to the back of the bench.

Galo doesn’t seem offended, though, just eager to prove his point. “Really! When my dad coops up at home too much and has to go outside for like, a meeting or something, he comes back tired ‘cuz talking to so many people face-to-face gives him a headache.”

“But I didn’t even talk to anyone except my parents.”

“Well, you're a kid, and everyone’s got their limits.” He turns to Lio. “And ya said you’re not even used to being _ around _ people, right? Not just talking to them.”

Lio lulls his head away from the boy as he frowns. He’s right. It’s not even just talking. Just being _ around _ so many people is enough to give him a headache.

How do mum and dad expect him to be the heir at this rate?

“Heir? Heir to what?”

Lio stands up straight and looks at Galo again, scrambling to get a hold of something. “D-did I say that out loud?”

“Yup, yup.”

Lio cringes. He’s never talked to a commoner about something like this. Or… _ anyone _ for that matter. The family business was such an ingrained part in his being that he didn’t think he’d have to really explain it to anybody.

“What’s an heir, anyway? Like, I know the basic meaning, but also, not really.”

“It’s a person who’s next in line to take over some sort of business once their parents retire from said business.”

“Oooooh. So your parents are like, some kinda hotshots?”

“Um, they sell cars.”

“Woah, that’s cool!”

“I guess.”

“Hm.” Galo studies Lio’s expression, and it’s like he’s looking right through the younger. Lio is uncomfortable, and appreciates it at the same time. “I guess there’s nothing’ really cool about gettin’ to own a company if you don’t feel like you worked for it, huh?”

Lio blinks and looks at Galo again. He knows his face is blank, but he can’t really process any emotion right now--“Yes.”--because this American-slang-spewing-jock boy just perfectly described his feelings on the matter. “How… did you know?”

“I didn’t?” He shrugs. “I just know that whenever I get praised for somethin’ I didn’t do, even if I get a reward for it, I still feel really bad about it. I guess I assumed it was the same for you?”

“Well… sort of. Not exactly, but…” He stammers. “Yes.”

“Take it easy, man.”

“Yeah.” Lio takes a breath. Exhales. “Okay.”

A moment passes, with sounds of cars driving and some people chatting as they pass through the park.

“That group you were with…” Lio starts.

“Oh yeah, they’re from my mom’s summer course!” Galo perks up, before immediately settling down. “Mom can’t teach us right now ‘cuz of her leg, so we got a substitute to run around with.”

“You don’t seem too happy.” Lio points out, as he tilts his head.

“_ Yeah _ , ‘cuz--!” Galo brings his hands up, only to slap them back on his legs. “I joined the summer course ‘cuz I wanted to spend time with mom more. But now that she’s injured, I just spend _ more _ time away from her! Just my luck.” He crosses his arms and pouts. It’s almost cute, Lio thinks, the way his hair falls in his face and Galo tries to get it out of the way by blowing on it. “And when she’s not there, my soul just can’t burn, y’know?”

“I… kind of understand.” And he really did. He doesn’t see the purpose of studying so hard when he’ll probably never use the knowledge he gets there, doesn’t see the purpose of training him in business if they continue to alienate him from interacting with other people, even children. Children his own age.

“And you didn’t hear this from me, but…” Galo scratches the back of his head. “I don’t like the other coaches that much.”

“Why?”

“They’re just, I dunno.” He bites his lip. “Maybe I’m just too used to how mom teaches us. It just doesn’t feel right. I get tired faster, too.”

Lio huffs out a laugh. “Tell me about it.”

“I just did.”

“Figure of speech.”

“Figure of what?”

“Metaphor.”

“_ Ooooooh. _”

Lio opens his mouth, and almost decides to abstain from what he’s about to say next. “Is that why you decided to get into philology, too? To take an interest in what your father does?” He inquires.

Galo laughs, his shoulders shaking with the motion. “Noooope! Dad’s the one who got me into it!” He looks up at the tall buildings, currently shielding the blinding sun. “Mom wanted me to learn about Japanese stuff so I can be proud of being the child of both worlds, or somethin’ like that. Dad used to tell me mythology tales as bedtime stories!” His smile softens. “But I’m not gonna lie, it’s what gave me the idea of getting into sports so I can be closer to mom. She’s always out and harder to take a hold off than dad. I can nerd out with him about history and stuff, but mom’s not really into that kinda stuff.”

Lio stares at Galo, mouth slightly open. “That’s pretty smart of you…”

“Really?” The elder cocks an eyebrow. “Seems kinda needy, dontcha think?”

“No.” He shakes his head, scrunching up his eyebrows. “Why would a child who wants attention from his parents be needy? Why would that be bad? That’s completely normal. And not something you should feel bad or stupid about.”

Galo blinks and looks away from Lio’s blatant store, opting to look down at the ground. Seems like the shorter is the one who’s looking through him this time.

“I dunno like…” Galo says, stumbling on his words. He pushes his legs together as his hands go between the gaps of the bench, clenching at the wood. “I know it’s bad of me to bother my parents. I just miss ‘em sometimes, even when they’re right there.”

“If they won’t make you feel less lonely, then I will.”

That sentence came out so smoothly and naturally it surprises both of the boys. Galo’s hair actually almost hits the younger in the face as he whips his head around.

Lio isn’t one to let his emotions get the better of him. Not usually. But something about seeing Galo so hesitant, so unsure… It reminds him of himself. And no kid should have to feel the sadness Lio feels, ever.

“Talk to me. I know it’s not the same as your parents, but…” Lio brushes a strand of hair behind his ear. “You’re my friend. I wanna listen to you. Is it okay to say that?”

Galo’s wide eyes are boring into Lio’s face, and he doesn’t blink for a couple of seconds, instilling the fear in Lio that he might’ve somehow passed out with his eyes open. But then he speaks once more.

“C-” He starts before he seizes up and grabs Lio by his small shoulders and yells, “‘Course it’s okay! Super okay! Super duper okay!”

“Oh.” Says Lio. “Cool.”

“Yeah, cool…”

They stare at each other a bit more before Lio tries moving his arms. “Um, Galo, you’re kinda crushing me.”

“Oh, shoot, sorry!” Galo quickly withdraws his hands, but doesn’t back away as the smile on his face blooms once more. “Ehehe, it’s awesome to have a friend… ‘specially one as cool as you!”

“Don’t you have other friends?”

“Eh…” He scratches at his cheek. “Not really.”

“Bummer.” Shrugs Lio, a smile on his own arriving on his face. “Anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend.”

Galo’s face softens as he looks down at the younger one. “Ya think so?” 

“Definitely.” And maybe it’s the fact that Galo’s smiling again, and that the boy’s happiness is infectious, or maybe Lio’s just getting attached, but he can’t help but smirk and tilt his head (in the cute way he does when he wants to convince a maid to let something bad he did slide) as he continues, “But until they realize what good company you can be, I can have you all to myself, right?”

And the blush that blooms on Galo’s cheeks as he laughs makes the risk worth it. “Guess so?” He points at Lio’s chest, determined. “But only if I get to have ya all to myself, in return! It’s only fair!”

Lio’s grin only widens. “Of course.”

“Well, you seem to be doing well, milord.”

Lio almost jumps out of his skin as he whirls around.

Engel’s right there, a little ways away from the bench, a tote bag slung over his shoulder, and a smug expression plastered over his face.

“W-what took you so long!?” Lio accuses, hopping off the bench, with Galo following suit.

“I had to run to the car, then to the pharmacy, then to the grocery store… and then I found you sitting here with young Galo and I didn’t want to intrude.”

_ ‘But why did you intrude right *now*!?’ _ Lio wanted to yell, but settled for puffing up his cheeks and fuming. 

“Hi, mister Engel!” Galo waves, oblivious to Lio’s embarrassment.

“G’day, Galo.” Engel says, switching to his american accent. “The sire and missus texted me to say they’re still shopping, so would you like to join us as we get some ice cream?”

“_ Would _ I!?” Galo shouts, and Lio won’t even fault him for it, because that sentence, even if not directed at the younger, made his eyes sparkle.

Yup. He loved Engel, sometimes.

Galo grins wide and bounces around, giggling in excitement, and Lio is far too relieved to see him smiling again to tell Galo to cut it out.

🔻

🔻

🔻

“How’d you find me, anyway?” Lio asks, as he and Galo are seated outside a particularly fancy-looking ice cream parlor since Engel insisted he’ll wait in line and take their orders.

Galo quits looking at his surroundings as he spread out his arms on the white table. “While I was going home, I saw Engel running past me faster than Almaz Ayana, so I ran the opposite direction to see if you were around. And you were!”

The side of Lio’s lip quirks up. “Yup, I was.”

“Also, _ super _late question, but where’s your parents?”

“Window shopping. I didn’t feel well, so Engel carried me somewhere secluded and went off to get something to help me feel better.”

“Huh. Okay.” Galo kicks his feet under the seat before he speaks up again. “Did you know ice is a crystal?”

Lio squints. “No it’s not.”

“It is!” Galo sits up straight. “Dad told me so.”

“Well, your dad’s wrong. Why would frozen water be a crystal?”

“‘Cuz all crystals are just rocks with water and some chemistry stuff mixed in ‘em! So is ice!”

“That sounds dumb.”

“Science is dumb.”

He can’t argue with that.

“By the way,” Lio diverts, totally not in order to distract Galo from the fact he’s most likely one-upped Lio on a logical topic. “You said you were half japanese, right? Do you know any japanese?”

Galo crosses his arms and lets out and odd laugh, he’s keeping his mouth shut but it sounds obnoxious either way.

“_ 俺 _ _ 様 _ _ の英語と日本語は完璧じゃん！ _”

“Woah.” Lio marvels, eyes widening. “What did that mean?”

“‘My English and Japanese are both perfect!’ Somethin’ like that.”

“Cool…!” He says, and he can practically see Galo’s ego meter fill up.

“What about you? Know any French, fancy lad?”

“I’m half-british. I haven’t really studied other languages yet.”

“Aw, that sucks.” Galo laments, before he suddenly kneels on his seat so he can push himself up on the table. “Hey! I could teach you some Japanese!”

Lio perks up. “Really?”

Galo nods strongly as he settles back in his seat. “I can teach ya the basics over the week!”

Lio bounces in his seat. “Okay!”

“Wow, that’s the most excited I’ve ever seen you.” Galo points out.

Lio immediately halts whatever he was doing and goes back to his usual expression. “Is that bad…?”

“Aaghh, no, no!” Galo waves his hands around, immediately regretful of his words. “I really, _ really _ like it when you smile, remember? It’s a good thing! Super duper good!”

“Oh… right.” Lio touches his cheek. He feels bad for ruining the moment, but he can’t help it. It’s a habit for him to stop whatever he’s doing when called out for it. Even if it’s Galo…

“Don’t force it, dude. You’ll see!” The boy hits his chest with his fist. “The Great Galo Thymos is gonna have you dropping smiles everywhere you go with him!”

Lio blinks, huffs out a short laugh, and looks back up at the other child. “I accept the challenge.”

“I’m already getting a good head start!” Galo laughs, and this time, Lio’s smile doesn’t drop.

“キレイだな, おまえは.”

Lio blinks. “What was that?”

“_ UH _\--” Galo startles and waves his hands around once more. "I, uh, said--let's start the lesson!" He laughs. Lio's not fully convinced, but he's not the expert here.

“Okay, so!” Galo claps his hands together. “Let’s start with the basics! ‘Hello’ is ‘こんにちは’!”

“‘こんにちは’.” Lio repeats. “I remember that one, I think.”

“Good start! Next, introduction! My name is...”

They continued in this manner for a while. By the time Engel had arrived with their parfaits balanced on a tray with practised ease, Lio had already learned the japanese words for “My name is”, “Hello”, “Goodbye”, and “Pigs in human clothing”.

“_ Woaaaah! _” They both exclaim as Engel sets the goblets of ice cream down in front of them and they immediately start digging in. Seems like Engel also bought himself a small bowl of vanilla ice cream with vanilla sticks, which he eats with delight as he listens to the boys continue their lesson.

Lio learns about the variants of pronouns for ‘I’ and ‘You’ (including what Galo calls ‘the rude versions’, which Lio claps with delight to), versions of ‘Hello’ and ‘Goodbye’, and how to ask questions.

“Oh, and there’s various ways you can send someone off too--” Galo pauses in-between bites of his parfait. “Aaah, this is so tasty!” He excitedly kicks his feet.

“What flavor did you get?” Lio inquires after licking off his spoon.

“Concrete!”

Lio chokes as his eyes widen. “What?”

Galo laughs. “Your face!” Lio pouts as he clears his throat. “I know it sounds weird, but concrete’s like, vanilla mixed with cookie bits!” He suddenly perks up, as if getting an idea, and stabs his spoon into his goblet before he kneels on the chair and holds out his spoon as close as he can get to Lio. “Here, try it!”

“Oh--can I?”

“If you don’t want it to drop on your shirt, then probably!”

Lio was actually kind of tempted to ruin the shirt, because he has like forty other identical ones, but he doesn’t want tasty sweets to go to waste, so he sits up in the chair similar to Galo, brushes his hair away from his face and takes the bite from Galo’s spoon. 

His face instantly lights up, and he hums happily as Galo takes the spoon back.

“Good, right!?”

Lio nods happily.

“Ahaha,” He hears Galo laugh, and sees him look at his spoon with an odd, confused expression, before the boy quickly takes a stab at Lio’s rocky road, quickly chomping on it and returning to his seat. “This is good, too!”

“Yours is better.” Lio responds.

“_Yours _ is better!”

“Do you kids know what a ‘third wheel‘ is?” Engel suddenly interrupts.

Lio shakes his head.

“Like, a tricycle?” Tries Galo.

“Okay, good.” He takes a bite of his own ice cream. Lio and Galo share a look, shrug, then go back to their parfaits.

“By the way,” Galo speaks up, basically done with his portion save for some melted cream at the bottom of the glass. “Want me to teach you ‘nice to see you again’, too? So we have somethin’ to say to each other everyday!”

“That’d be nice!” He smiles, and pushes away his goblet. There’s about a third of it left, but he’s already full. Engel can eat it, if he wants. (And judging by the spark in the butler’s eye, Lio’s right on the money.)

“Okay, so, when you say ‘nice to see you’ or like, ‘it’s been a while’, you say ‘久しぶり’. Or ‘久しぶりですね’, to be more polite n’ stuff.”

“久し... ぶ...り” Lio repeats slowly.

“Yup! Or--actually, y’know…” Galo puts his spoon on the table and looks up, thinking about something, before setting his sights back on the other boy. “There’s a version we can use, since we’re friends and all! But uh, you can’t say it to anybody else.”

The younger blinks, and nods, determined. “Got it.”

“Okay, so it’s, uh…”

He hesitates, confusing the younger and prompting him to tilt his head as he waits.

“大好きだよ.”

“大好きだよ?”

Galo nods fervently. “Ya got it! Perfect! Ten outta ten!”

Lio beams. Engel’s smiling too, though the smile on his face seems more mysterious, like he knows something he doesn’t.

“Oh, right.” He remembers as he turns to the older man. ”Engel, is ice a crystal?”

He looks just as perplexed as Lio did when he was asked the same question. “No?”

“Galo said it was.” He points the spoon at the aforementioned boy.

“My dad did, but yeah!” The boy informs in-between bites of ice cream.

“Well then,” Engel starts, putting his spoon away. “Let me consult the ‘ol dictionary and see if that is true.”

“Are you gonna look it up on Google?” Deadpans Galo.

“I’m going to look it up on Google.”

“What’s Google?”

Galo looks worriedly at the other boy, and then at Engel. “Can you like, get him a phone or somethin’, at least?”

“Trust me, I’m _ trying _.” Grits out Engel.

After tapping at his phone for a good couple of minutes, Engel puts his phone on the table face-down, intertwines his fingers, and puts his chin on them.

“Okay, well,” He begins, bordering on a sigh. “According to uncle Google, ice _ is _, in fact, a crystal.”

“_ Whoo _!” Hollers Galo, throwing his fist in the air. Unfortunately, the boy forgot that he was holding his next spoonful of ice cream and threw it behind him, at an unfortunate woman’s purse. Neither party notices, only Lio, so he just darts his eyes around before going back to his dessert.

🔻

🔻

🔻

“Galo, Engel will pay.”

“No! Lemme _ go _!”

“Galo, stop!”

“No! No barrier on this Earth can stop--Galo--_ Thymos _\--!” He accentuates with every step he takes. But Lio is relentless, and holds his ground while he clings to Galo’s body, even as his feet slide back.

“I’m no barrier, I’m a human! And you’re _ not _ getting past me, Galo Feh-mos!!”

“_ Noooooo! _”

“Kids, this is better than the last three dramas I’ve watched but calm down, good lord.”

The cash register clicks with a ‘cha-ching’. “Thank you, have a nice day!” The cashier says.

Galo is brought down to his knees.

“_ No…” _He says, and it’s the most sorrowful Lio’s ever heard him.

“Galo, we are literally rich. This is pennies for us.”

“But _ still--! _You’re the one visiting, you shouldn’t pay!”

Lio smiles and kneels down so he can look the boy in the eye. “That’s very sweet of you, thank you. But Galo,” He plants his hand on the older’s shoulder. “We’re _ rich _.”

He pouts. “Fiiiiiiiine.” He drawls as he stands up and dusts his knees. He then points accusedly at Lio. “But tomorrow, I’m gonna buy _ you _ something!”

A light gasp comes out of Lio, unwillingly. “We’re going to come here tomorrow?”

“Well, yeah!” He puts his hands on his hips. “You had fun here today, right?”

‘_ Only because you were here, but--’ _ “Yeah!”

The taller grins. “So I’ll go pick you up on my bike tomorrow! Twelve sharp! How’s that sound?”

Lio’s about to accept, but he turns to Engel first, giving him the widest puppy eyes he can muster.

“Don’t give me that look. I was going to say ‘yes’, anyhow.”

Lio bounces with glee and the expressions on the two other people immediately soften into delighted smiles.

“‘Aight, I should go home now.” Galo says, and grabs his backpack from the fourth chair they left unoccupied during their dessert.

“Do you need us to walk you back?”

“Nah, I’m fine! I need to catch the train.” As he hauls the bag over his shoulder, he walks over to Lio, clasps his hand in both of his and squeezes it as he gives him a big, wide grin. “じゃね!”

Lio squeezes back. “またね.”

And with that, Galo lets go, and runs off, waving to them as he does.

The wind blows past them.

“We should get going.” Engel says, patting the child’s shoulder.

“Yup.” He didn’t even acknowledge the fact Engel didn’t bother to switch back to his British accent.

🔻

🔻

🔻

“There you are!” Lio’s mother calls out as she gets up from her seat by the giant fountain. “Where in the world have you been? And what are those bags?”

Engel bows before speaking. “Water and medicine for master Lio’s headache.” He reverts back to his usual accent. “We walked around around the park to clear his head and got something for him to eat.”

“Figures… All this distance we drove only to not buy anything.” She shrugs as she grabs her purse and ushers her husband to stand up as well. Lio’s father hadn’t looked up from his phone until that moment. 

“Let’s go. Today’s been a waste. Mintha has been dragging me everywhere.”

“Excuse me,” Lio’s mother interrupts, “Everytime _ I _proposed we take a break, you just brushed it off--”

“Shall we head to the car, first?” Engel interrupted quickly, noticing Lio’s tight grip on his hand before the boy himself did.

The family started their trip towards the car, but Lio’s parents kept quietly bickering on and off, not raising their voices so that they wouldn’t invite unwanted attention upon themselves. Lio distracts himself, like he always does, by looking at the stores they pass by. One in particular caught his eye, and his footsteps slow.

There was a magazine on display, with teenagers covered head to toe in spike-bedazzled clothes and adorned in black leather jackets, posing in front of large bikes.

“Master Lio?” He hears Engel speak.

“Nothing.” He answers, resuming his normal pace.

Nothing for now, but maybe something for tomorrow.

🔻

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🔻

Lio’s mother’s maid is already in the limousine when they arrive, engine started.

As they took their respective seats, the conversation had basically died down, making Lio sigh in relief and lean back in his seat.

“Lady Mintha, while on my trip to refund that dress…”

“Which _ Phrixus _ told me to do…”

“Mintha--” Her husband starts, in his usual tired tone, but the maid continues.

“I saw master Lio in the park, without Engel.”

Lio freezes.

He doesn’t see Engel react. The butler usually keeps his cool even in the face of accusations, so no one can ever tell if he’s panicking on the inside or not. 

He calmly speaks. “Yes, I left him there for about five minutes so he can catch his breath.”

“You left him _ alone _?” His mother asks, appalled.

“So what if?” His father dismisses. “Lio’s old enough to stay put when he’s told to.” 

“But what if something had happened to him!?”

“Actually, he was talking with a boy.” The maid continues and if Lio hadn't been literally unable to move, he’d give the maid the coldest stare he could muster in the rear view mirror. 

“What? Is this true?” Out of the corner of his eye, he sees his mother shift in her seat.

Lio musters a gulp, and nods.

“Lio, what do I always, _ always _ tell you?” She turns back. “Don’t talk to strangers. Especially the ones from the city, those are the worst! Always con men and rookie business officials.”

“But… he was my age.”

“How do you know that.”

Lio stays quiet.

“How do you know that?” She repeats.

“I just assumed.”

“Don’t lie to me, Lio. I hate that.”

“I’m not.”

“Don’t talk to strangers, Lio. Even the children. People will use any means to get someone’s favor nowadays.”

Lio lowers his head even further, if it’s even possible, and puts one hand to his ear.

“Listen to your mother, Lio.”

“I am.”

“Put your hand down.”

And so he does.

“Missus, he _ is _ still a child--”

“Engel, this is _ my _ child and _ I _ will decide who he will communicate with. And it certainly won’t be with some city wanker who, to our knowledge, might be one of those scummy Burnish in disguise!”

Lio’s breaths are getting quicker.

His he▲d hurts.

There’s some sort of vague screech in his ear as his mother continues t▲lking and it mutes her voice just ▲ little, but it’s still _ not enough _ ▲_nd he just has enough and she’s still t_▲_lki _

He feels a hand on his shoulder pulling him closer, and he realizes he’s being pressed against Engel’s side.

“Is he crying?” His mum interrupts her lecture. “Lio, honey, you don’t cry over things like this. This is serious.”

Lio doesn’t listen and just presses his face into Engel’s coat as the man gently shushes him.

🔻

🔻

🔻

When Lio comes to, he’s in his bed, woken up by the sound of his door opening.

He doesn’t move as a weight presses on his bed and a hand starts carding through his hair.

“Hello, luv.” His mother’s voice reaches his ears. “Are you awake?”

‘_Thanks to you.’ _ He thinks bitterly, but in reality he just moves his head against the pillow so that it looks like he’s nodding.

“You know your father and I just want the best for you.”

“Mhm.”

She gently brushes a strand of hair behind Lio’s ear. “So you can’t fault us for it.”

“Mhm.”

“Just remember we want you to grow up the best you can be.”

“Mhm.”

Her motions suddenly stop.

“Are you still mad?”

Lio doesn’t move.

The silence stretches on for a minute.

He hears her sigh as she roughly gets off the bed and her footsteps hurry to the door.

“Fine. Go sulk.” She says, voice unlike what it had been just a moment ago as Lio hears a creak. “Can’t fault me for trying.”

The door shuts.

When it does, Lio’s tears run free as he hides his head under the duvet.

The darkness only encourages him.

🔻

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🔻

_ That night, Lio dreams he’s on a colorful ice island, like something straight out of a commercial. He skates around the ice, holding hands with a small group of people he doesn’t quite recognize, but feels safe enough around to laugh out loud. _

🔻

🔻

🔻

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Q: Is there anything Engel can't do?  
A: get a date
> 
> and oop we're getting into the angst part of the story, though only just a little bit for now
> 
> "俺様の英語と日本語は完璧じゃん！" - "The great me's English and Japanese are both perfect!"  
"キレイだな, おまえは" - "You're pretty."  
"大好きだよ." - I love you.  
"じゃね/またね.” - See you later.


	4. Day Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ITS FINALLY DONE AND HAS 20K WORDS OH MY FUCKING GOD thank you everyone in promare hell who put up with this longass chapter  
next, AZURI AND PXL DREW ENGEL and i couldn't be more happier i love these so much thank you again for drawing him...  
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/602728491326111744/614943172556226581/unknown.png  
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/608937130177331201/614162296939347972/IMG_20190822_202047.jpg
> 
> Also, if you see any inconsistencies or typos, please do let me know!! Enjoy!

Despite the events that transpired the previous day, Lio wakes up feeling better than he did yesterday. His face must look terrible, though.

He drags himself out of bed and looks at the clock on the wall. Ten in the morning. Well, it’s better than eleven. He can take his time to get himself together before Galo gets here.

Stepping into the bathroom and up on the stool that was given to him so he could reach the sink, Lio pushes his hair back from his face (which he normally refrains from because it ruins his hairstyle, but these are desperate times) and he sighs in relief when he sees that he looks relatively normal. There’s some bags under his eyes, however, so he splashes his face a few times before getting on to brushing his teeth and hair.

After he’s done and wiped his mouth, Lio looks at himself in the mirror.

  


He blinks.

  
  
  


Yeah, he’s still mad.

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As he walks down the stairs, Lio hears a car engine starting up. When he gets to the window, he stands on his tippy toes to see Engel seeing the limousine off. He just barely catches his mother’s maid getting in the driver’s seat and his fingers tighten on the window sill.

When the car drives off, he storms off into the kitchen and takes a seat in the most grumpy way he can muster, waiting for Engel while crossing his arms.

Until he hears the front door open and his steps coming closer and--oh no. Engel got chewed out, didn’t he? For leaving Lio alone and letting him talk with some boy that his parents could seek out and have him move cities, or--

He stands up and the second the door to the kitchen opens, he barrels himself into Engel’s stomach, causing the man to stumble.

“_ Woah _\--!” The man exclaims, understandably taken aback, before he laughs. “Top o’ the morning to you too, milord!”

Lio buries his face further into the butler’s shirt as he feels soft, gloved hands land on his shoulder and head, respectively.

“Terribly sorry about that feud yesterday. It’s all taken care of, don’t worry.” He says, voice soft as he pats the boy’s equally downy hair. “Sir, missus and Sera will be away ‘til the evening.”

Sera? Oh, right. The maid. He never did bother to remember her name. Not like she talks to anyone, anyway. But he doesn’t care about her. “Engel, you got yelled at, didn’t you?”

“Oh, dear, you heard that.”

“No. I was sleeping.” Lio looks up. “So mum _ did _yell at you.”

“Damn, you’re spry for a nine-year old.”

“No. You’re just weak against me.”

“I fear you sometimes, sir.” 

“Don’t avoid the question.” Lio pouts before stepping away. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, don’t you even start.” When suddenly, Engel’s hands placed themselves under his arms and lifted him into the man’s arms with a grunt. “You did nothing wrong, you precious little bugger. Her majesty is just so far up her own arse she can’t tell an invitation to McDonald's from a job interview. Better she lets out her steam on me than you.”

“Don’t talk about her like that.” Lio warns as he lays his chin on Engel’s shoulder.

“I only speak the truth, but as you say.” He shrugs as he lowers him on the wooden chair and pats him on the head. “Don’t worry about me, feller. This old timer is used to dealing with angry rich folks.”

“Just 'cause you’re used to it doesn’t mean it’s right.”

“You’re right. It doesn’t.” He continues as the hand lifts from the boy’s head to adjust his own monocle. “But it helps to cope.”

“‘Cope’?”

“Deal with,” He crosses his arms. “Like you cope with not having a date for yourself by eating some ice cream to cope with the heart ache.”

“That sounds… specific.”

“Mm. Mm.” Engel bobs his head from side to side, and it almost looks like he’s making fun of Lio, leaving the boy confused as the man walks to the oven.

“I’ll be getting breakfast ready. Would you like to watch?”

Lio suddenly perks up as he hops from the chair and jogs to Engel, who happily picks him up again and sits him on the counter top.

“So, what are we feeling today?” He asks as he pulls off his gloves to reveal his dark skin. “Remember, you’ve got a date today, so it has to be light. Don’t want to get too full, now.”

Lio chooses to ignore some parts of the sentence so he can finally announce his choice. “Croquettes!”

“Two or four?”

“Two.”

“Right-o.”

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

“Engel--”

“Shush, you can’t possibly expect to go out with someone to the city in just a shirt and pants?”

“Galo’s my friend, he won’t mind. If anything, he’ll probably be surprised.”

“He’ll be more surprised to see you dressed nicely for him in something other than black and white.”

“I don’t think Galo even knows the difference between beige and white.”

“Just be happy I’m not giving you the velvet pants.”

Lio shudders. He feels like he’s about to pass out from the heat just by thinking about those things.

“That’s what I thought.” Engel finishes wrapping the red ribbon on Lio’s collar neatly and steps back, dusting his hands. “There you go! Now you won’t stand out so much.”

Lio looks in the body mirror as he sighs. He’s wearing one of his short-sleeved, white button-up shirts, but it’s covered up by a beige, wool vest, and it does make him look a little bit like a normal school boy. He was also given more comfortable shoes, as Galo doesn’t have the strength to carry him to and fro like Engel does, though at the same time, Lio highly doubts that. Speaking of--”You’re really not going to come with me?” He asks, turning to the man.

“Unless you want me to, no.” Engel smiles, cocking an eyebrow. “The fellow knows the city better than us tourists. I’ve talked and seen him interact with you in person, and in my judgement, I can leave you with him safely.”

“Okay…” Lio nods and gives him a small smile. “Thank you, Engel.”

“But if I see that you’ve been hurt somehow when I didn’t have my eye on you, he won’t see the light of day again, believe me.” He adds, smiling brightly the whole time.

Lio just frowns and groans as he turns to the mirror, re-adjusting his ribbon. “I see why mom allowed dad to hire you.”

“What can I say,” He sees the butler shrug in the mirror reflection. “Your folks love dark humor.”

“Geez, no wonder I grew up to be so depressing.”

“Chin up, master Lio, today’s your first step towards independence!” He claps his hands on the child’s shoulders. “Lucky you! My fathers didn’t let me go out on my own until I was fourteen.”

“That would’ve probably been me if I hadn’t met Galo.” Lio says, staring into his own reflection, and Engel’s grip softens.

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He kneels down next to him, eyes soft. “But you are lucky to have stumbled upon him.”

“He stumbled upon me, actually.” Lio recalls, eyes drifting to the ceiling. “He came out of the sunflower field and just asked me if I wanted to walk with him.”

“I’ve heard of worse first impressions.” He pats the boy on the back as he stands up. “Let’s hurry along, now.”

Lio turns to him, confused, only to see the butler looking out the window and at something down below. “I believe your ride’s here.”

Lio jogged to the window and the man instinctively stepped to the side to give him space as he took a gander at the lawn, and then the entrance to the estate’s bounds.

Lio let out a small gasp as he hurried to the stairs, Engel’s laugh chiming in his ears.

“Careful with those shoes! They’re Berluti!” He hears the elder shout after him, as if Lio knew what a Bear Looty was or cared at that moment.

_ He’s _ waiting for him.

🔻  
🔻   
🔻

Galo’s in a crouch, adjusting something on his bike until he hears the door open and smiles when he sees Lio, followed by Engel.

“Lioooo!” He waves, smile as warm as the sun above them. “おはよう!”

Lio does his best to return the smile as he waves back. “Galo, 大好きだよ.”

Galo’s smile gets somehow even wider as he giggles, more to himself than at Lio, but… “Did I say it wrong?” He still asks, a little self-conscious.

But the boy waves him off. “Nah, nah, it was good! You uh, might need to work on it a lil’ more, but it’s still real good!”

“I see…” Lio nods resolutely. Well, he can’t be expected to nail a new language on the first try, so all he can do is keep trying.

“Good morning, Galo. I’ll be leaving young master Lio in your care today.” Engel greets the boy as he pats Lio on the back. “You do know the consequences if I see even a hair loose on his little head, yes?”

“That seems kinda extreme.” Galo says blankly as he crosses his arms behind his head. “I don’t control the speed at which hair falls out.

“You kids are getting smarter by the day, I swear.” Engel mutters under his breath, and despite Lio’s limited lack of knowledge on ‘normal’ child culture, he feels like the man’s got the wrong idea here as well. “Well, anyway, just don’t do anything dangerous, alright? Oh, and…” He digs into his pocket, producing a phone out of it as he kneels down. “May I have your phone number? I’d like to check in on how you two are doing every two hours or so.”

“Oh, sure!” Galo perks up as he whips out his own phone (it has a cracked screen, to Lio’s surprise. How is it still working??) and the two recite each other's numbers to each other. After Galo sends the Engel a message (specifically a small picture of an ice cream in a cone), the man is satisfied and stands up.

“Alright, boys, you two have fun on your day. Anything happens, give me a call. I’ll blaze through any obstacle to get to you as fast as I can.”

“Thank you, Engel.” “Thanks, Mr. Engel!” Lio and Galo respectively say as they walk to the road, Galo taking his bike along with him.

Galo throws his leg over the bike and leans back, patting the frame of it after he does. “Okay, sit here.”

Lio blinks. “Um, okay.”

He does as he is told, he’s not sure about this as he hasn’t ridden on a bike since a year ago when Engel was trying to get him to learn and resulted in various scrapes and Lio crying on the asphalt, along with endless apologies from Engel. He’s never been on the passenger seat, though. Does this even count as a passenger seat? Is this legal?

“I think so?” Galo shrugs and Lio just realizes he said that out loud. “I mean, nobody’ll get on your grill about it or anything.”

“But I don’t have a grill.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t get what that means, either.” Galo smiles as he adjusts himself on the bike and grabs the handlebars, the right on Lio’s front and the left behind Lio’s back. The younger boy gulps.

“Ready?” Galo asks.

Lio grips any part of the bike he can hold on to and grabs it in a firm grip. “Yeah.”

“_ Let’s gooooo! _” Galo announces as he starts pedaling, and despite yelping out of fear of them falling at first, the ride soon steadies and the bike is smoothly riding along the side of the road, the wind pleasantly blowing past the two boys.

Lio carefully and slowly lets go with one hand to brush his hair away from his face, tightening the grip in his other hand as he does so.

The sight of the city is gradually getting closer.

“What’s up?” Galo suddenly speaks up.

“What?” Lio turns to him.

“Ya seem sad. Or like, upset. Is it the bike? I won’t drop you. You weigh like, nothing!”

Lio pouts at that. “I’m fine.”

The other boy frowns. “Nuh-uh, you’re not.”

Lio just looks away, his gaze settling on the field around them. He doesn’t want to drag Galo into his stupid arguments with his parents. They’re supposed to have a fun day, not weighed down by Lio’s dumb baggage that he’s better off not knowing.

He spares a glance at Galo and gulps when he sees the boy looking worryingly, pleadingly at him. 

Crap. Lio’s never been on the receiving end of puppy eyes before. He feels his will slowly dissolve. Is this how Engel feels whenever he pulls this? He feels kind of bad for doing that so much, now.

Unsurprisingly, when Galo tilts his head to see Lio’s face better, the latter whines as he gives in. “I… had a fight with my mom, yesterday.”

He feels Galo’s chin on his shoulder, and the younger is reminded of Cerberus, how we plops his plops his snout on Lio’s head or shoulder when he’s lonely and wants to play, and Lio feels his walls crumble even more. “That sucks, man. ‘m sorry.” Galo mumbles.

Lio shakes him off, because despite feeling most safe with this boy, he still fears that he’ll lose balance because he’s focusing too much on comforting him than actually paying attention to the road. “She apologized. It’s okay.”

“But you’re still sad.”

“Mhm.”

Galo’s quiet for a few seconds before he speaks up again. “Want me to stick some bugs in her purse?”

“Please don’t.” The shorter shakes his head. “She definitely won’t let me play with you if you do that before you even meet her.”

“Aw, shoot.” Galo pouts. “That’s true.”

“Besides, she already left.”

“Wait, they left you alone??”

  
“I mean,” Lio rubs at his arm. He doesn’t even realize his fear slowly dissipating as they keep talking. “Whenever we go to the city, we walk around, I get tired and I have to rest in the car. And at the beach, we go into the water once and then lay in the shade for the rest of the day. Nothing really exciting about that.”

“I think your parents, like, just don’t know how to have fun.”

“They own a company, Galo. Of course they don’t.”

“What about Sakurai?”

“The one from Nintendo?”

“Yeah! He owns a company and he’s cool!”

“But what does he do for fun? Doesn’t he work all the time?”

“Well, I dunno, I guess...” Galo seems to think it over for a moment, humming loudly before apparently giving up and groaning. “_ Ugggghhh _ , having a job sounds like it _ sucks _ . I’m _ never _ getting a job.”

“You have to, though, so you can afford food.”

The older boy pouts. “I’m just gonna live off of bugs forever.”

“Gross.”

“Says you!”

“Don’t rope me into your homeless fantasies!”

“But it’s fun when you’re there~” Galo smiles.

Lio rolls his eyes in reply. “If I’m there, it means I’m inviting you into my _ own _ job.”

Galo perks up and suddenly starts pedaling faster. “Ooh! Ooh! If it’s a job with you, I’ll prob’ be willing to work!”

“Just so you can see me?”

He nods. “Yeah!”

Lio frowns as he shuffles slightly on the bike. The breeze is cooling him down, but his chest still feels warm, for some reason. “It’ll probably be a very hard job…” Knowing his parents, they’ll give him the hardest position right off the bat.

“Nothing will stop Galo Thymos!” The blue-haired boy chuckles, slightly menacingly. “Not even the limitless bounds of society!”

“Did you understand any of what you just said?”

“Nope!”

“Idiot.”

The smile of Galo’s face doesn’t fall in the slightest, and Lio huffs a laugh through his nose, before simply giggling.

The wind blows past them.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

“Wait, how do you know about Sakurai if you don’t even know what Google is?” Galo suddenly speaks up once they’ve crossed the city border.

“Engel looked up an article on him on the internet and showed it to me. I read it a couple years ago, I think, when I was starting to learn to read and write.”

“Man, you have a fun teacher.”

“He’s the _only_ fun teacher.”

“To ever exist, probably. Oh! We’re in the city!” Galo _ just _ notices, then switches from riding on the road to the sidewalk as he slows his pedaling. “Do ya wanna go somewhere like, specific, or do you want me to pick?”

Lio opens his mouth to tell him he can pick whatever, since he knows the city better than the younger, but then he remembers what he saw when he was heading back with his parents the day before.

“Yeah!” He says instead. “There was a shop that had something I wanted to buy.

“Yeah? Do you remember where it is?”

“Close the centre, I think? Somewhere near a giant fountain...”

“Roger that!” Galo grins as he grips the handlebars tighter.

🔻  
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🔻

“There!” Lio points, a few moments after passing the large fountain.

Galo slows the bike to a stop, and holds them up with a leg as he looks to where Lio is gesturing.

“A… kiosk?”

Lio blinks as he turns his head back to the other boy and slides off the bike to land on the ground. “A what?"

The blue-haired boy swung his leg off his bicycle and left it at a small parking rack near the wall. “It’s a place where you buy newspapers, bus tickets, n’ stuff like that.”

“So that’s where they come from…” Lio puts a finger to his face and nods in understanding.

“Ya get interested in things that are like, basic everyday stuff for me. It’s cute!” And before Lio can process that sentence, Galo is strutting to the store, waving at Lio to come follow. “C’mon, let’s go inside!”

“Okay!”

Galo swings the door open and the ring of the bell above distracts Lio enough to get him almost hit by it as it closes.

It’s a world like none that Lio has ever seen. Shelves stacked head to toe with various brands of candy, groceries, some fruit, some vegetables, and lots and lots of magazines. Some were even famous books that he recognizes from his mother’s collection.

For Galo, this was an everyday part of his life, but for Lio, it was like stepping into another dimension.

Galo says a quick ‘hello’ to the cashier before he turns back to the shorter boy. “So, what did ya wanna get?”

“Um…” Lio turns to the display near the window and glances at it from different angles. “It was around here…”

“Was it a magazine?” Galo says as he leans in close enough to almost lean on Lio’s shoulder.

“Yeah, it had…” Lio gulps, glancing to the rest of the store for a second. They’re alone, save for one other tall boy with purple hair listening to his headphones and the cashier, and she’s busy with something else, it seems. Store stuff, Lio doesn’t know. He then turns back to Galo and gestures for him to come closer so he can whisper to him. He catches on and lowers his head. “It had guys in leather jackets and bikes.”

Galo nods strongly and turns to the wall covered with newspapers and flashy magazines that mostly had rumors and scandals as their headlines. On the lower left corner of it, however, were covers that seemed to show off the latest fashion and trends, and Galo rifles through it as Lio continues examining the rest.

“One of these?” Galo holds up not one, but _ three _ magazines in his hands and shows them to Lio. The first had a woman in a simple leather jacket pushing her hair back with a bike behind her, the second one seemed to have some sort of band with flashy black clothes and even flashier black hair with colorful streaks. There’s some sort of letter in the background that Lio doesn’t recognize, but the headlight says ‘Visual Kei Stars Come To Promepolis!’. Some sort of metal band, he thinks? And the third--

“That’s the one!” Lio reaches out to the magazine with grabby hands and Galo hands it to him.

“‘Biker Gangs: The Dogs of the Desert’.” They both read the title.

“Oh hey,” Galo suddenly says, smiling up at Lio. “I can actually pay for this!

“Um, you don’t have to--”

“You’re rich, I know.” Galo rolls his eyes. “But I promised ya I’d buy ya somethin’ and I got like, thirty dollars.” He then puts both the magazines into one hand, and balls his free hand as he leans into Lio’s face. “Lemme do this, _ pleaaaaase _?”

“But…”

“_ Pleaaaaaaaaaase?? _” Galo whines even louder and leans even closer and the other boy has to take a step back, putting the magazine in his hands in front of him as some sort of protection.

“_ Puh-leaaaaa _\--”

Lio smashes the book very lightly against Galo’s face.

“_ Okay _, you big baby, you can pay.”

Galo takes no offense to the action and instead thrusts both his arms into the air triumphantly. “YES!”

“Oh hey,” A voice above them suddenly asks, and the boy with purple hair is standing next to them, pointing at one of the magazines in Galo’s hands. “I was lookin’ for that there. Mind if I have it?” He speaks with a strong, southern drawl that Lio’s only heard in some movies and Anime dubs and he can’t help but be in awe. People with voices like that actually exist in real life??

Galo seems to have the same on his mind, because he pauses for a second to blink before he answers. “Oh yeah, sure!” He does an odd, crab-like, sideways walk to the boy as he holds out his outstretched hand to the teenager. “Here!”

The boy only huffs in amusement as he takes the one with the metal-looking band on the cover and gives Galo a short pat on the head. “Thanks, kid.” And then he walks to the cash register, fiddling with his headphone cords as he does.

Galo puts the remaining magazine away and then comes closer to Lio to whisper to him once more. “Dude, his Southern is _ spot-on _.”

Lio nods, dead serious. “I don’t think even Engel can do an accent like that.”

“It’s like… super bad and super good at the same time.”

Lio nods twice.

“I can hear y’all from here, you know.”

The two boys jolt and hang their heads low as they mutter quick apologies. But the boy just chuckles, surprisingly low and smooth for a boy that only looks about two or three years older than Galo. Neither child takes their eyes off of him as he walks to the exit, and he notices them again, because he does a quick salute to them as he does.

“_ Super cool _…” The two of them mutter, watching his figure pass by the display window.

Lio then notices the cashier staring at them, and tugs at Galo’s shirt, nodding in her direction. Galo gets the hint and grabs a five and one dollar bill from his pocket, then grabs Lio’s hand and places them on it.

Lio stares stupidly at his hand before blinking up, dumbfounded, at the older boy.

“Ya ever bought anything before?”

“Um…” Lio looks down at the bills once more, and realizes that this is… the first time he’s ever held this much money?? Even though he’s rich?? Because he’s always had someone else buy stuff for him?? “No??”

“Wanna try it now?”

“Um…” Lio swings his head from left to right, from the cashier to Galo. Then he glances at the money, laying flat against his small, shaking palms. Then suddenly, he feels another pair of hands enveloping them. He looks up to see Galo’s reassuring smile.

“It’s okay!” He tilts his head as he starts taking small steps to the cash register. “I’ve got your back.”

Lio, feet still rooted in place up until that point, plucks them out of their spot and walks tentatively towards where Galo is leading them.

Lio doesn’t even reach the register. Not even when he stands on his tippy toes. And the cashier lady is so high up?? Why is she so tall?

“Hello.” She says in a somewhat tired voice, one that indicates she’s had to say this multiple times today. Lio still jolts.

Galo, whose eyes just barely go over the register, hands Lio the magazine, gesturing for him to put it on the counter. Lio gulps and stretches his hand out as far as he can, and the girl takes it, quickly putting it over some machine, which lets out a beep. What was that?

“Will that be all?”

“Um,” He turns to Galo, and when he sees him nod his head, he replies, “Yes…”

“That’ll be five ninety-nine.”

Lio fumbles before quickly standing on his toes once again and placing the money on the counter. The lady takes it and opens some sort of metal box, presumably placing the cash there, and then closes it before holding out a small penny to the boy, which he takes.

“Thank you, have a nice day.”

“Um, can I take it?” Lio asks.

The cashier huffs out a quick laugh. “Yup, it’s yours.” She slides the magazine closer to the edge of the counter so the light-haired child can grab it.

“Oh!” He exclaims, and takes the small book with him before bowing his head. “Thank you.”

“Thank youuu!” Galo repeats, more enthusiastically, and waves at her as he pats Lio on the back with his other hand and directs him to the exit.

The door opens and closes with a bell chime.

As Lio looks at the magazine, now in his grasp, in his possession, he can’t help but let out a happy laugh.

“How ‘bout it? Happy with your first purchase?”

Lio bounces and turns to him, smile still as radiant. “Yes! Thank you so much!”

Galo seems surprised for only a second before he laughs himself, his finger scratching at his cheek. “Cool! That’s yours now!”

“Mine…!” He turns to _ his _ magazine again before he remembers the weight in his right hand and hands the remaining penny over to Galo. “Here.”

“Oh yeah, thanks!”

“Hey…” He starts, as the blue-haired boy pockets the change. “Why is it almost six dollars, but not actually six dollars? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just have it at that, and not have to open your wallet to pocket the remaining penny?”

“That’s what I said!” Galo exclaims as he throws his hands up. “But dad said it’s like a, uh, ‘shopping scheme’?? So that people will think it costs less, cuz’ nine ninety-nine is still cheaper than ten dollars.”

“But…” Lio frowns, utterly confused. “The price has so many nines in it. Wouldn’t that bother people?”

“I _ know, right!? _Like,” He crosses his arms. “What do I do with a penny?? All I can do is just collect em ‘til I finally get a whole nickel out of it.”

“Well…” Lio puts a finger to his chin, in thought. He doesn’t know if it’s only something that is said in his family, but… “Isn’t there a myth that one penny brings luck?”

“Umm…” Galo cranes his neck to the side as he looks up. “I think so? I guess you can like, throw ‘em in a fountain…”

“A fountain?” At that, the shorter blinks. “Why would you throw money in a fountain?”

Galo looks at him again, and he can practically _ see _ the sparkle in his eye. As he stands up straight and grins, he digs into his pocket again and gives it back to Lio.

“But, this is yours--” He holds the money out, only for Galo to close his fist with his own hands, and then drags him further down the road as he starts to walk faster.

“It’s a _ penny _, we just discussed that! It ain’t nothin’.” He quirks his eyebrow, and throws a thumb in the direction of the city centre. “C’mon, I’m gonna show ya something!”

This day already turned out to be exciting. Though still unsure of what’s next to come, Lio grins as he picks up the pace to catch up with his friend.

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Seeing the fountain so soon after what yesterday doesn’t exactly brighten Lio’s mood, but he keeps his face as neutral as possible so that Galo’s excitement over… whatever they’ve come here to do won’t dull.

“Okay! So,” Galo suddenly stops and lets go of the shorter boy’s arm, causing the latter to nearly bump into him. “You really never heard of the thing where if you throw a coin into a fountain, it’ll grant your wish?”

Lio shakes his head. “Is it another Japanese culture thing?”

“Nah, it’s like, European, I think?” The older scratches at his head. “I dunno if people in Japan even do this.”

“But… aren’t you from Japan?”

“I’m _ Japanese _, never said I was from Japan.” He crosses his arms behind his head. “Apparently dad got a job here in America, met my mom, and hasn’t been back in Japan since.”

“So… the power of love kept him here?”

“Man, you make that sound _ way _ better!” Galo exclaims as he slouches. “Now I kinda feel bad.”

Lio tilts his head at that. “What were you going to say?”

“Nah, it’s dumb…” Galo turns to look away, but just as he does, he catches Lio pouting, his cheeks puffed up to the max, and sighs as he relents. “I mean, I get that dad doesn’t really have a reason to go to Japan anymore ‘cuz he’s seen aaaalll of it, and mom says we don’t got money for a trip to Japan, but... “ He kicks at the ground, and glances up at Lio, gauging his reaction before he decides to go on. “I’d like to go to Japan one day, y’know? There’s so much cool stuff there! I don’t wanna settle on just stories that dad tells me! Uh--” He pauses to wave his hands around frantically. “N-Not that I don’t appreciate the old man! I love dad a lot! Just…”

“You want to do it fully? As in, go all out?”

Galo snaps his fingers at (or tries to. His fingers just make a weak ‘fwp’ sound) Lio with a grin. “_ Yeah! _ Yeah yeah yeah! What’s the point of learnin’ all this stuff if I don’t ever get to see it!? I need to see it for myself someday! The forests, the landmarks, statues, kabuki shows, the Animate…” Galo looks up at the sky as he clenches both his hands into fists. “I’m gonna see it all for myself today! I feel it in my soul!”

Lio sees the spark in Galo’s eye, the beginning of a flame there, the determination he’s never seen on anyone else before. Someone so _ excited _ to follow their dreams and see them through. And he can’t help but smile as he steps closer.

“I’m sure you will, Galo!”

“‘Course, you’re comin’ with me too, Lio!”

“Huh?”

“I’m bringin’ mom, dad _ and _ you! I mean, I’ve talked to you so much about Japan, I wanna see it all for the first time with my favorite people!”

_ ‘Favorite people!’ ‘Favorite people!’ _

That one part echoes in Lio’s head over and over, so much that it must’ve short-circuited his brain, because the next thing he sees when he blinks is Galo’s confused face as the other’s finger pokes at his cheek. _ ‘Favorite people’ _ . Galo’s list of favorite people includes _ Lio _!

“Hellooo? You good?”

Galo’s the one to be surprised this time, because the hand he was jabbing at Lio was snatched in two smaller ones.

“You’re my favorite person too, Galo!” Lio says, and he says it as loud as he can with his reserved voice, trained to be meek and calm at all times. So unlike Galo’s, but he wants to return the sentiment, so he talks louder than he was allowed to before. It’s not like there’s anyone here to stop him, is there? “And Engel, too! I’d love to fly somewhere with you one day!”

Galo seems to pause for a second, his mouth opening and closing, on the verge of saying something before he forgets what it was, before he laughs nervously and looks away, ruffling up his mohawk with his free hand. “Ahahaha, y-yeah! Yeah, ‘course! It’d be cool if Mr. Engel could come, too! Maybe he knows Japanese!”

“Hmm. Maybe.”

Galo then freezes entirely. “Wait,” He turns back to Lio, and the younger notices he’s a little red in the face. Is it that hot out today? “Does he really?”

“I’m not sure…” Lio lets one of his hands release Galo’s as he looks up in thought. “He knows a lot of languages… I’ll have to ask him.”

“Uh-nononono_ no _!! It’s fine!! Really!” Galo flails his hand around once again, to Lio’s confusion. “Um… I’d rather teach you Japanese myself, y’know!? Like as a thing between us only!”

“Oh, I see.” The shorter accepts the excuse and smiles innocently. “I won’t, then.”

Galo laughs and then sighs, but he still looks a tad nervous as he pulls away from the other child. “Okay, so, you got your coin, right?”

The boy, already slightly missing the feel of the other’s hand in his (it’s so small, almost as small as his. So unlike the big, gloved, adult hands that always completely envelop his), goes into his pocket and digs out the penny, holding his magazine under one arm.

“Okay! So basically, you think of a wish, you throw a coin into a fountain, and you’re done!”

“When will the wish come true?”

“Uhhh, I ‘unno. Guess it’s up to fountain gods to decide?”

“Are fountain gods quick to do things?”

“From my experience, no.” Galo frowns as he crosses his arms. “Still haven’t gotten that Switch.”

“Light switch?”

“It’s a game console.”

“Oh.”

“But yeah!” Galo’s serious demeanor changes like an aforementioned light switch as he goes back to his usual, perky self, doing a thumbs up as he grins at Lio. “Let’s do it!”

Lio stares at Galo. Back at the fountain. Back at Galo.

The older boy’s eyebrow quirks up. “What?”

“Galo, how do we get there without getting our shoes wet?

The expanse of the fountain is easily five meters wide. The sources of the flowing water are at least twenty feet away, and the rest of the pool is water high enough to completely soak an adult’s entire foot.

And Engel specifically told him to take care of these whatever-brand shoes.

“We’re just gonna take ‘em off and run through! Duh!”

“But… is that even legal? We won’t get in trouble?” Lio looks around. Sure, they set off firecrackers before and it turned out fine, but now… “We’re in the city.”

“It’s fiiine! I see people soak in it all time! Look, there’s some over there.” He points to the right side of the fountain, where a teal-haired boy and a blonde girl, seemingly in their teens, are sitting on the stairs to the pool, rubbing their faces together. Lio only gets a short look at them before Galo blocks his view of them. “Uh, actually, maybe don’t. But besides!” The boy distracts, “We’re kids! The worst we’re gonna get out of this is like, someone yelling at us.” He waves his hand dismissively as he tries to assure the other boy.

“That’s still bad.”

“Don’t worry, Lio!” The older child grins. “Anyone dares try and ruin our fun, we’ll just splosh water on ‘em!”

Lio thinks of a police officer that looks suspiciously like a certain maid freaking out because they had water splashed in their hair and huffs out through his nose in amusement. “Okay.” He sits down on the part of the stairs that doesn’t show signs of water being splashed on it and sets his magazine there. “Let’s do it.”

“_ Heck yeah! _” Galo shouts as he starts kicking off his own shoes and bounces about when he gets to sliding off his socks. Lio does the same, albeit calmly, and without almost falling over.

When the two set their footwear and belongings on the highest step, Lio stands up and digs out his coin again and looks down at it, only to be interrupted by the feel of another small hand grabbing his. When he turns to his right, Galo’s smiling, determined, at him.

“Ready?” He asks.

Lio balls his hand with the penny into a tight fist. He nods with a smile of his own. “Yes.”

“Okay!” He thrusts their linked hands into the air, and Lio has to stand on his tippy toes for a second because Galo has a good few centimeters on him. Thankfully, the older quickly brings them down as the two kids start walking down into the pool together.

“One,” They both say, the first step down the stairs taken.

“Two,” Second down, the water’s splashing at their feet now. It’s cold, _ freezing _, a refreshing change to the hot air around them.

Galo squeezes his hand and Lio returns the gesture.

“_ THREE!! _”

The water splashes around them, slows them down, it’s cold and surprising to Lio, but he just keeps laughing as Galo keeps holding his hand and encourages him to keep running.

When they arrive at the fountain, they realize that the basin is too tall for Lio to reach.

While Lio’s shoulders sagged, it didn’t seem to discourage Galo, because he lets go of the boys hand only to quickly wrap both his arms around him instead (inducing a rather high-pitched yelp from him) and lifts him up just enough so Lio can see the basin.

Lio widens his eyes. There’s not just a few coins, but the fountain is practically _ filled _ with them. He can’t even see the bottom. No wonder the fountain gods apparently took so much time to grant wishes.

“Make a wish!” Galo’s voice brings Lio out of his thoughts and he clenches his fist to hold up his penny. Feeling the boy’s arms loosening around him (there was a limit to the boy’s strength, after all), he wishes upon the most recent thing he remembers wanting and throws the coin into the basin with a soft, almost cute, ‘plop’.

“I did it!” He raises his voice so the other could hear, and is quickly brought back into the water. He turns around to see Galo holding up both of his hands, palms open, and slowly, Lio brings up his hands the same way in front of him. The older takes the initiative and claps his hands against Lio’s in a double high-five, and the two laugh triumphantly.

“So?” Galo asks, and his hair is a little wet, droplets of water stuck in his hair and reflecting the sun rays shining down upon him. Lio wonders if his smile also reflects the sun, with how bright and warm it always is. “What did you wish for?”

Despite his internal monologue, Lio looks away as he crosses his arms.“If I say the wish, it won’t come true, you dolt.”

“_ Whaaaat _?” He hears him whine. “But my parents said it’s only a myth!”

“Well, _ my _ parents say it’s not.”

“I thought you didn’t like your parents.”

“Then Engel said it.”

“Now you’re just makin’ excuses.” Galo pouts, and Lio smirks. “Was it somethin’ embarrassing?” Galo keeps prodding, and the water sploshing signifies him coming closer to Lio as he puts his hands on the boy’s crossed arms. “C’moooon, I saw you eat a bug! You can tell me anything!”

“Can you let go of that, already!?” Lio turns to him and from the looks of his tightly closed eyes and soft ‘weh’ sound, he accidentally whipped him with his hair. “I just don’t want to risk it not coming true.”

“Laaaaame.” He pouts again, and Lio uncrosses his arms to poke at one of his cheeks. Galo amuses him by flattening his cheek as the pressure on it intensifies, and then blows air in Lio’s face. The boy just steps back while laughing.

Galo’s soft smile appears for only two seconds before it transforms into a frown as he looks at something behind Lio. The boy turns around in confusion, and blinks when he sees the same couple, still touching their faces together--

Oh wait, no, they’re kissing. Like, a lot.

“How long have they been doing that?”

“_ Long enough. _” He hears Galo reply, with very evident disgust in his voice, before he sees him begin to walk towards the two. “Watch this.”

Lio assumes this is the one thing he doesn’t want to get caught up in the middle of, and nods as he stays still and watches attentively.

Galo walks slowly and stealthily (as stealthily as one can be when they’re splashing around in water) towards the pair before he sinks his hand palm-open into the water, riles it back…

Then swings it full-force in the water, causing a rather huge wave to splash on the pair.

Galo swiftly turns around and grabs at the other boy’s wrist. “Run, run, run, RUN!” He urges, though the giant grin on his face completely nulls any kind of fear or any kind of negative emotion the two boys should be feeling as they run to the direction they came from, laughing and giggling through the distant yells of the teenagers behind them.

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“Hey, hey. What made you wanna buy that magazine anyway?” Galo asks as they’re drying themselves by the fountain, patting their hair down with Lio’s pocket handkerchiefs.

“It’s not something I see often.” Lio shrugs. “Maybe that’s why?”

“Magazines or motorcycles?”

“Yes.”

“You take a look inside yet?”

Lio stops as he’s drying his bangs and lets out an ‘oh!’ before pocketing his tissue and grabbing the magazine instead, putting it between the two boys on the seat so they can both look at it as they flip it open.

The book is full of articles talking about some newer motorcycle-riding gangs emerging from the deserts around Promepolis and its neighboring cities. It focuses on their fashion styles, what differs them from other gangs, the way they decorate their bikes in order to assess which group they’re in… A whole new world for Lio.

“Woaaaah, they look cool!” And apparently Galo, too. Guess he’s not exactly all-knowing of the world, either. He’s still a kid just like Lio, after all.

“I like their clothes.” Lio comments as Galo looks up at him. “I never really thought that black and white clothes could be cool or fashionable. Everything I wear is always fancy or formal. But these…”

“Oh yeah, this is like, biker gear! I think that’s the point of it? Like,” Galo continues rambling. “Goin’ against the thought that black and white can only be sad and stuff.”

“Cool…” Lio revels, flipping to another page before he speaks again. “What’s a biker do, anyway?”

“They like, form gangs and ride places on motorcycles together! They style their hair all fancy n’ stitch pins and stuff on their jackets and clothes to make it look cool.”

“Wouldn’t that ruin the clothes? I mean, leather gets torn and scratched easily."

“Hm…” Galo crosses his arms. “I think that’s exactly what makes them cool. They put their own spin on their clothes and like, make it theirs, y’know?”

“I think I get it…” Lio stares intently at a specific picture of a boy, definitely in his teens unlike most of the older men in the magazine. His ears were covered in piercings and spikes in places he didn’t know ears could be pierced. Don’t they hurt? Feel heavy? And he has spiked all over his leather jacket, as well. Like he doesn’t want anyone to come closer, yet his somber face says otherwise. He then focuses on the bike he’s leaning against, its engine exposed for all to see and the blue accents on it, and he tries imagining himself in place of the boy, riding on that motorcycle across a desert. He fails, and his face falls. “I can’t even ride a bicycle… I’m a bit jealous of them.”

He then sees Galo’s hands smack against the rocky surface of the bench, and jumps as he looks up to see the boy’s face _ dangerously _ close to his. “It’s never too late to learn!”

“I… I suppose?” Lio stutters out as he slides back a little.

“I can teach ya later, if ya wanna!” Galo enthusiastically suggests, and all Lio can do is nod because, while he _ does _ want to learn, he doesn’t want Galo to deal with Lio when he inevitably _ falls and gets hurt and has to deal with him screaming and crying _

But this is Galo. Patient, vibrant Galo, possibly even more mature than Lio, age notwithstanding.

“We’ll teach ya how to ride a bicycle. And then, when we’re older, we’ll both get _ ultra _ cool motorcycles and ride around the streets together! Like a mini-gang!”

“I think that’s just a duo.”

“Motorcycle Duo Galo and Lio, then! It sounds cooler than just ‘gang’.”

“I think ‘gang’ sounds cooler.”

“But with ‘duo’, it implies that we’re just as strong as a gang! Right!?”

“Not really.”

“Boo. Well…” Galo scratches at his cheek before he smiles sheepishly. “I guess it sounds romantic?”

Lio blinks and lifts an eyebrow. “What’s romantic about that?”

“Like--! Y’know! Just two people against the world! A duo!” He swings his fists around as he tries to explain to the neutral-faced boy. “Just two people versus every other gang in the American desert!”

Lio’s deadpan doesn’t fade. “I don’t get it.”

“Aha… ah.” Galo laughs and awkwardly scratches at his head before he slumps back in his seat. “Ya don’t know romance at all, Lio.” He mumbles.

“I seem to be getting that a lot, lately.”

“Well, _ good _. Be aware of it, ya meanie.” Galo pouts, looking to the side.

If Lio could vocally say ‘???’, he would. But he just shrugs and flips the magazine closed. “Should we go somewhere else now?”

“Oh yeah!“ Galo stops sulking immediately as he jumps from the bench and perks up. Lio’s barely surprised at this point. “We can’t waste all day just sittin’ here! I gotta show you more stuff! C’mon!” He then sits down again, putting on his socks and shoes, and Lio nods as he starts doing the same. 

As they prepare to head out once more, It hits Lio then that he should've wished for something more thought-out when he was throwing that coin into the fountain. Like for his parents to be nicer, to be more independent, to have a life outside his family, a bike, or anything else.

But for some reason, as he looks back on his wish, as Galo swiftly grabs his hand and hoists him up, grin wide and excited, as Lio looks at their intertwined hands--

_ 'I wish for the plane to not crash when Galo and I fly to Japan.' _

\--He doesn't think of it as a waste of a wish at all.

  
  
  
  
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🔻

They briefly go back to Galo’s bicycle because he left his backpack there. He smiles, carefree, thankful that nobody stole it as Lio shakes his head behind him. Galo then proposes that he roll up the magazine and place it in the bag so he doesn’t have to carry it around under his arm. Lio gladly accepts and does just that.

Since Lio picked the first destination (the only one he had in mind, anyway), they decided that Galo could pick the next one(s). 

“Do ya like animals?” He asks after a good few minutes of pondering. Lio almost took out the magazine so he could read it again while the other boy thinks it over.

“I do!” He excitedly says. He doesn’t get to interact with animals much outside the family and guard dogs, but in general, he likes them a lot. Family trips to animal parks are one of the few vacations he remembers fondly along with beauty contests that Cerberus took part in. Lio instantly perks up as he continues; “Is there a zoo here!?”

“Oh, uh, no.”

“Oh.”

His shoulders instantly sag, and he doesn’t have much time to dwell on his disappointment before Galo starts flailing his arms around.

“But there’s a pet store! They have like, some really cool animals, and they’re like, really, really cute! I think you’d like ‘em!”

“Oh! Alright.” That’s better than no animals at all. No leopards or rhynos, but maybe he’ll see some cool fish? “Are we going to take the bike?”

“Nah. It’s too crowded. I got a bad habit of bumping into people while biking. And also,” He continues as he digs into his pockets and pulls out a phone and some… wires? “I get the chance to teach ya some _ culture _ while we walk there!”

“What are those?” Lio points to the red string… things.

“These?” He holds up his right hand. “Earbuds! You listen to music on the phone with them.”

“You can have music on your phone?” Lio inquires with an almost hushed tone, like Galo is carrying illegal technology.

“Yeah! Pretty much every phone nowadays can do that.” 

“Woah…!”

Galo’s face shows a mix of confusion and fondness as he untangles his earbuds and puts one in his ear, then reaching his hand out to the side of Lio’s head to let Lio listen to the other end.

Lio immediately cringes and tilts his head to the side. “It feels so weird…” 

“I know, right?” Laughs Galo. “I’m thinkin’ of asking mom and dad to buy me headphones for Christmas.”

Lio shakes his tilts his head from side to side, up and down, Galo staring at him the whole time. The bud still hasn’t fallen out, to his awe. “I don’t hear anything from it.”

“Well yeah, ‘cuz I’m not playing anything right now.”

“What are you going to play?”

“Well, I’m glad you asked!” Galo exclaims and crosses his arms proudly as he leans his head back. He’s then strangely silent for a moment before looks at Lio again, still smiling confidently. “I have _ no _ clue!”

Lio’s flinch from the other boy’s stupidity feels like a bonk to the head. “No clue…?”

“I mean,” He gestures around with his hands as he explains. “I was gonna show ya electro-swing ‘cuz ya said you like it, but then I remembered the whole point of this was showing ya music you haven’t listened to before! So I thought of anime soundtracks! But then remembered ya watch anime, too. So like... “ He crosses his arms and tilts his head to the side, his body actually following it so that his whole upper body is leaning to the right. “I dunno??? I guess since ya like that punk stuff,” He throws his thumb over his shoulder to the backpack he’s carrying. “Maybe ya wanna listen to some rock or metal?”

Lio hums as his face scrunches up in distaste. “I don’t like metal much. It’s all just a lot of raw screaming."

“I guess so… Oh!” The older boy straightens up and starts tapping at his phone. “I know a metal band that doesn’t focus on screaming!”

“You do?"

“Yeah!” He swipes and taps at the screen some more as he slowly starts walking and Lio comes along. Because of the earbuds, they have to stay rather close, not that it really bothers them. They’ve held hands, after all. This is nothing. At least, to Lio. “Okie-dokie, here.” Galo announces and holds the phone between them so they can both see the video that is beginning to play on the phone.

The screen is in static, which confuses Lio for a second, thinking it’s broken, before the video fades into a stage with three dark silhouettes in frilly dresses, and he hears a hushed ‘[GIVE ME CHOCOLATE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIKqgE4BwAY)’ before the music kicks in.

The red and white flashing lights and skeleton costumes of the people playing the instruments are what he expected of a metal band video, but the cute girls in black, goth-but-not-really pretty dresses that dance in a way that contrasts so much yet fits so well to the music? That’s something that he didn’t except at all, and something he _ didn’t know he wanted _ until now. And Galo wasn’t lying when he said they don’t focus on screaming. While he doesn’t understand the lyrics at all, the way the girls sing them and their choreography (especially the way the ‘leader’ girl appears slightly annoyed at her two teammates’ antics) appeal so much to Lio by how silly yet charming they are.

He waits until the chorus ends before he lets himself speak (his jaw was already open, he notices). “Who are they?”

“Babymetal! They’re an idol group!”

“Idol?”

“Basically girls and boys that sing and dance to songs in groups, like normal stars and bands in America, but, like, not really?? It’s hard to explain.”

Lio gets the gist of it anyway, and smiles as he continues listening and watching. “I like them.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah!”

They laugh together and Lio notices the low voice of the back-up vocals sing as the two twin-tailed girls start their routine again, and as the first one finishes her ‘Atatata’ chant, Lio quietly, somewhat to himself, says ‘Zukkyun’ To the rhythm of the music.

It wasn’t so quiet, because when the other girl finishes her ‘Watatata’, he hears Galo sing along with ‘Dokkyun!’, though definitely louder than the first boy.

Lio doesn’t have a second to be embarrassed as he continues. “Zukyun.”

“Dokyun!”

“Zukyun!”

“_ Dokyun! _”

“Yada! Yada! Yada! Yada!” They both start to pump their fists, Galo thrusting one of his into air as the beat gets faster. “_ Never! Never! Never! _”

They both don’t know the rest of the lyrics, though, and hum the rest of the chorus together as energetically as they can.

“Is that goth fashion?” Lio speaks up a bit after the lyrics cease again.

Galo’s looks like he’s barely stopping himself from bouncing along the sidewalk so he can hold the screen steady for Lio to see. “Goth lolita, I think?”

Lio remembers hearing about ‘lolita’ during one of his mother’s meetings with some boss of a fashion company. He got a glance at some of their works, and was quite mesmerized by the absurd amount of details the dresses and bonnets had to them, and was amazed to think people got to dress like this and not be judged (too much). “Isn’t lolita fashion supposed to be cute and colorful?” 

“It can still be cute with black and red!” Galo insists. “I mean, you wear black and white all the time, and you’re mega cute!”

Lio flinches at that as he hastily swings his head to look up at Galo. “Am not! And besides, I’m wearing beige today!”

“Page is like, basically white, isn’t it?” He tilts his head to the side with a manure-eating grin. “You’re still cute!”

The younger puffs up his cheeks. “Am _ not! _”

Lio’s natural defense mechanism turns out to be defense_ less _ againt the Galo-s Fehmos-os as the rival creature pinches its claws into the boy’s pouting cheeks. “Cuuutieeee.” He drawls, smiling serenely. “Cutie-patootie!”

The light-haired boy could _ feel _ his face and ears heating up from the compliments now, and takes a harsh step back, causing the earbud to fall from his ear in the process. Galo didn’t seem offended, however, and took out his own bud as they both stop walking. “Sorry, man. It’s true, though!” He says with a slightly apologetic smile, and while Lio still feels a want to sulk when he glances at the boy from the corner of his eye, he doesn’t dwell on it much and turns back to him. Well, two can play at this game. 

He looks Galo dead in the eye. “You’re cute, too.”

_ That _ gets him speechless. The boy’s smile fades and his own cheeks seem to redden as he stomps his foot and stutters out a response. “Wha--No way! _ You’re _ the cute one!”

“You can be cute, too.”

“No way! _ I ain’t _!!”

Lio crosses his arms, not giving up. “Why can’t we both be cute, then? 

“‘Cuz you’re like--! _ Next level _ cute! All small n’ soft n’ fluffy n’ stuff! I ain’t like that!”

“But you smile so much. And you’re so animated.” Lio counters, putting a hand to his chin. “When you rant, you wave your arms around in this specific sort of way. It’s very cute.”

He sees Galo’s fists shake as his face gets redder, but stands his ground as the older takes a step forward. “Well, when _ you _ smile, it’s like the sun came out!”

Lio puts his hands on his hips and leans his face closer. “_ Your _ smile is like the sun. It’s always there.”

They pull off their strongest pouts to try and influence the other, with no avail. And then they have to deal with the fact that a bunch of passing adults had to stare at two children smashing their foreheads together in a battle of flattery in the middle of the sidewalk.

“If you really want permission to call me cute,” Lio says after their stare-off had lasted a while. “I will accept, but only if I get to call you the same.”

Galo’s cheeks somehow get even _ puffier _ , until he throws his head back with a loud groan. “ _ Uuuuughhhhhh, fine! _”

“Good.” Lio smiles, back to his polite, delicate demeanor. “That’s settled, then.”

“Mmpf, yeah, sure.” Galo continues sulking as he ruffles up his hair and the two start walking once more.

“Oh yeah, that reminds me, actually.” Galo speaks up once more, not sounding the least bit offended as he whips out his phone again.

“Our argument reminded you of something?”

“Yeah!”

Lio squints. Does this kid see the good in every little thing?

“There’s this game that my dad used to play but doesn’t anymore? But the music is really good so he listens to it often when he’s doin’ work.” He explains as he swipes at his phone then takes out the earbuds once again, putting it in his and Lio’s ear respectively. The hand lingers a little in Lio’s hair as it moves away. “Seriously though, man, your hair’s fluffy as _ heck _.”

“So you’ve told me.” Lio sighs fondly, even if the ‘fondly’ part is only known to himself and in reality it sounds like he’s completely done with the taller boys antics.

The blue-haired boy then quickly takes his hand back and uses both to fiddle with his phone, almost ripping the earbud from Lio’s ear in the process. “But uh, yeah! These ones actually have lyrics, so ya can understand ‘em!”

He then thrusts the phone between them once more and shows a black screen spelling out ‘[SUN❤FLOWER](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtpYUMaElxM)’ with some Japanese writing below that Lio can’t read. Then, the red curtain parts to reveal five 3d anime girls, each in vastly different outfits, beginning to dance to the cheery guitar solo, soon followed up by an even more catchy tone that Lio can only describe as the theme of Summer.

It’s hard to focus on the visuals, dancing, singing and subtitles all at once, but oh does Lio try.

_ I came to this rainbow-clad town _

_ To meet you (Oh my!?) _

_ What’s up? You look sad! _

_ I wanna do something for you! _

_ The CO2 from your sigh (That’s right) _

_ Let’s bask it under the sun and photosynthesize it _

_ into a smile! _

The lyrics are cheesy and Lio could easily see them appearing on a kids show, but somehow they’re incredibly effective and make a smile appear on his face.

_ Your smiling face is like a Sunflower _

_ Too bright! I’m falling in love! _

_ My excitement (Fu fu!) cannot be stopped (Fu fu!) _

_ That’s the side-effect of falling in love! _

And maybe it’s the fact that he’s still a kid, still inexperienced, in friendship and human connections and _ love _ of all things, but the lyrics feel like they’re directed at him and the girls in the game are very, very pretty, and he can’t do anything when he feels his ears heating up a little.

_ I love your smiling face _

_ I want you to keep on shining _

_ (Shinin’) For you _

_ (Smilin’) For me _

_ (Swingin’) The two of us _

_ Will always be together _

_ After all, no matter when, _

_ Sunflowers and the sun will always look at each other! _

“This is from a game, right?” He interrupts, and Galo ceases bopping his head from side to side to look at Lio. Seems like he was immersed in the music, too.

_ Many, many times, Hundred, hundred times _

“Yup! Some kinda mobile game.”

“Phones can play games like this…?”

_ Thousand, thousand times, Tens of thousand times _

“Yeah!” He laughs. “Technology’s amazing, huh?”

“And this music is better than anything that Engel plays on the radio.”

“What’s he listen to?”

“Polish rap.”

“Wow, guess he can’t be all perfect, huh?”

“I know, right?” Lio smiles, his eyes crinkling as he does.

_ I want to give you this light of mine _

_ For your smile and yours alone today! _

He sees Galo switch the hand he’s holding the phone with and feels his own being enveloped in the other boys grip. Lio is a little surprised when he starts swinging their linked hands around, but only for a second before he’s returning the gesture as he hums the chorus while Galo sings the Japanese lyrics to himself, a bounce in his step.

_ Do I finally get to meet the smiling you? _

_ I woke up early today! Saying Good morning! _

_ The sun rising heat (Fu fu!) is so hasty (Fu fu!) _

_ It’s summer, so what are we gonna do!? _

_ Your smiling face alone, is so charming, oh! _

_ Your brilliance is unstoppable and I _

“Shinin’, for you,” Lio sings along, remembering this part, and Galo quickly joins in.

“Smilin’, f_ or _ me,”

“(Swingin’) The two of us--” They sing together as they tighten their handhold and their steps fall into a rhythm with each other.

_ Will surely, now and forever, _

_ After all, since long ago _

_ Sunflowers and the Sun are now one! _

  
  
Even after the song ends, they keep swinging their hands without a care, the sun shining down on them being like an after-effect of the track, causing their smiles to last longer as they continued on their merry way.

Lio doesn’t know when Galo stopped watching the screen and just started looking his way as he sang the lyrics instead, but he figures he just knows the song well enough by now to not have to watch it.

Maybe he saw something nice by the windows behind Lio. Oh well, his loss.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

“Ya know,” Galo speaks up after a good few minutes of what Lio thinks? Was window browsing? “You look happy when you let your voice out. Ya should do it more.”

“I was just humming, mostly. Nothing big.”

“But ya still looked happy n’ stuff!” He insists.

“People get upset when I raise my voice the slightest bit.” He looks away. “It’s annoying, so I just don’t.”

“Well, that’s dumb. They’re dumb. Ya should do it so they get used to it, whether they like it or not.”

“That’s a bit tempting, but…” He recalls his parents’ booming voices like a bass in his brain and loosens his grip on Galo’s hand. “No.”

“But Lio,” The boy insists, and Lio was almost about to cut him off before he refrained. Stupid habits. He’s always too afraid to stop people. “How else will others know what you’re feelin’? Y’know? Your parents n’ stuff?” When he doesn’t see Lio react, he continues, albeit in a more hushed tone that indicates he’s not looking at Lio anymore. “I mean, I think it’s especially the mean people that need to know what you’re feeling.”

Lio blinks at that as he turns back to Galo. As he thought, the boy is now looking forward with a sort of vacant expression that didn’t suit him at all. “Why? I don’t want anything to do with people I don’t like.”

“Yeah, exactly. So when a person is mean to you, you tell them that, right? That they’re botherin’ ya and that ya want ‘em to step off.”

“That’s…” _ Huh. _ “...actually a good point.”

Lio’s never been good at expressing his feelings. Whether it was happiness, sadness or anger, he always held it in until it was too much and just ended up crying in his room because he didn’t know what to feel anymore. Cried because he was too sad, cried because he was angry and felt bad for it, cried because he was happy and _ felt bad _ for it because there was _ always _ something that happened that day to hinder his happiness in some way, shape or form.

It was mostly because of his parents, which were the reason he was happy anyway. Funny how people can be personifications of mixed bags.

“I dunno if I’ll ever be able to do that.”

Surprisingly, Galo’s the first one to admit that.

“Me either.”

The older boy picks up his pace and urges the other to do the same with a tug on his fingers. “That’s why I wantcha to get better at stuff like that, y’know? You’re like,_ real _ blunt. Ya got potential!”

_ ‘Was that a compliment or an insult!?’ _“To be mean to mean people?”

“Yeah!”

A beat in the conversation as Lio finally falls in step with Galo once more.

“You know,” He looks up after some pondering. “That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“See!?” The taller laughs. “I mean, I’d rather just ignore people like that, but I feel like ya can really set someone in their place if ya really try, Lio!” He grins, teeth showing, and Lio feels a warmth in his chest that he hasn’t felt in a long time. Belief. Someone believing, not in Lio’s abilities or heritage, but in _ him _.

“I’ll do my best in order to be a nice meanie, I suppose?”

Galo throws their linked hands into the air and shouts; “_ Down with the pay-tree-err-kay! _”

“Was that even a word!?”

“It is now!!”

Lio sighs as Galo laughs obnoxiously, attracting the stares of passerby.

“When we get older, we should go to karaoke!”

“Karaoke?”

“It’s a place where ya pick songs from like, _ aaaaall _ kinds of different genres and sing the lyrics to the melody! But we can’t go there cuz’ they serve juice for adults, so that sucks.”

“We can just do that with your phone, though.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the _ saaaame! _” Whines Galo. Lio doesn’t quite understand it, but he sighs out a ‘sure’ to appease the boy. Besides, time spent with Galo is time well spent, in Lio’s eyes.

“Also, ‘adult juice’ is actually alcohol.” Lio adds.

“Oh, I know. It’s just funnier to call it that.”

He can’t argue with that.

He then looks around the street and gazes at the walkways, crossroads, and blinking lights in the traffic, and how much of a contrast it is to when he first met Galo, literally emerging from nature to invite the boy into his world. “There’s not a lot of grass or anything here.”

“That’s cuz the trees n’ plants are aaaaaaaall the way--” He raises his arm to point to the top of the buildings they’re passing by.“--Up on the roofs!”

Lio follows the direction he’s pointing and has to crane his neck back all the way. The block and towers are higher than anything Lio’s ever seen, and he’s seen the Eiffel Tower. “There’s gardens on the roofs?”

“Yeah! I ‘unno why.” The older shrugs. “I think it’s like, with heat? Like, heaters are on the ground cuz’ if they were on the roof, it’d like, disappear quickly or somethin’ like that?”

The younger shakes his head. “Heat and air act differently.”

“Well, we literally like, _ just _started_ learning_ biology in school, so.”

Lio’s a bit surprised to hear that. He’s already started to learn about various cellular structures, and the boy a few grades above him has most likely just found out this year what DNA even is.

Lio knows he should be the ‘superior’ one here because he’s got the knowledge, but he can’t help but feel a bit jealous.

He looks around some more, and sees what appears to be a giant firefighter truck hurrying through the traffic.

“I think it’s to keep them away from Burnish attacks.”

“Huh?”

“So the fire won’t get to them.”

“Ooooh, yeah… Plants _ do _ catch fire easy. And it’ll suck if there’s no air in the city.”

“Mhm.”

“Being Burnish’s gotta suck. They hafta burn trees.”

“No one said they _ have _ to.”

“I mean, why else would they? ‘S kinda hard to believe they cause fires just ‘cuz they can.” Galo continues. “Maybe they like, gotta burn plants ‘cuz like, ash is like air to them like air is to humans?”

“Your brains working surprisingly fast.”

He smiles, not-so coyly. “You think it’ll start bleedin’ soon?”

“As long as you don’t use it too much.” Galo lightly knocks his shoulder against Lio’s and the latter huffs out a laugh. He then steadies himself as his smile disappears once more. “A lot of people are mean for no reason.”

“That don’t mean every single one of ‘em is bad.” He frowns and looks back up at the sky. “A lot of people who aren’t Burnish are jerks and can start fires with matches n’ stuff. But most of them don’t.” Galo shrugs as he turns his sight on the sidewalk again and scratches at his head. “So I think Burnish have got to have a reason as to why they all burn stuff so much. I dunno. ‘S what I think.”

“Well, you’re definitely thinking about this a lot more than most people I see.” Lio admits, and it’s true. He’s heard his family, their friends and his servants talk ill of Burnish without actually talking about the reason why this could be happening. Engel is more or less quiet about the matter and urges Lio not to worry about such things. _ ‘You’re still young. Cherish it.’ _ he said. But the smile he had on at the time didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Galo hums and scratches at his cheek before he stops and smiles, tugging at Lio’s hand as he points at something in the distance. “There! There! There it is!”

Lio looks to where he’s pointing and sees a giant, circular building that looks like… “The city plaza?”

“Yeah! The pet shop is in there! And other stuff!” Lio almost trips as the taller boy starts to jog. “C’mon, c’mon!”

Lio hurries to catch up with Galo, the searing sun doing no favors to help him catch his breath.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

The cool air hits Lio like a train and he lets out a satisfied ‘Aaah...’ when it does.

He remembers visiting the plaza once, about two years ago, but only barely. If the place changed any, Lio can’t notice.

One thing he does remember that stayed the same, though? It’s big. And it does a good job at making him feel tinier than he really is.

“It’s just down this way!” Galo says as he lets go of the younger boy’s hand and walks to the right hallway of the first floor. And while the younger misses the contact, he has to admit their hands were starting to get _ really _sweaty and uncomfortable. So it’s most likely best they refrain from hand holding for now.

But only for now. He sort of likes being led around if it’s Galo.

They only have to walk around for a minute before a store with a big sign labeled “ZOOTOPIA” over it catches Lio’s eyes and they enter. Lio’s instantly hit by a rather unpleasant smell that he doesn’t really know how to describe other than ‘Cerberus tipped over the sack with the animal food and is rolling around in it again’. He hovers his hand over his mouth as he takes a look around and sees Galo doing the same.

The store has small animals kept in medium-sized cages and boxes, namely mice, hamsters, fish, lizards, snakes, and even some turtles.

“I haven’t seen a turtle in a while…” He says, voice a bit muffled as he approaches the water tank. The creature is rather small, leading him to believe it’s quite young.

“Ooh, me either! They’re cute! And their shells are all tough n’ stuff!” Lio nods at Galo’s enthusiasm as he taps at the glass, frowning when the turtle swims away. He then feels the older boys hand softly smack at his. “Hey, hey, they don’t like that! It scares ‘em.” He then makes a wriggling motion with his pointer finger and hovers it just short of touching the glass case. “Do it like this.”

Lio’s a bit confused, but does as Galo shows him, and tries to catch the turtle’s attention once more. He makes a soft gasp when it somehow works and a slightly bigger turtle swims over to investigate his hand. The older turtle has a rounder, cuter snout, he notes. He’s overcome with the natural urge to boop it, like he’s the creature’s granny or something.

“Cool, right?” Lio nods and Galo giggles. “Mom showed me that when I got my own fish. My life literally like, got _ so _ much better when I found this out.”

“You had fish?” The younger child asks, eyes not leaving the turtle’s visage, even as it swims away. 

“Yeah! Two! Koiking and Gyarados!” He moves his hand away from his mouth and does the wriggling trick in front of the glass, inviting the younger turtle to investigate the motion. “They both died ‘cuz I fed ‘em too much. I think it was like, also ‘cuz the bowl was too small.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine. Next time, I’ll be more careful! Even if mom says I can’t have pets anymore!”

“You… probably shouldn’t.”

“Aw, why?”

“Animals have different feeding times. You need to work a lot to take care of a pet.”

“Do _ you _ have a pet, Lio?”

He nods. “Mhm. A dog. His name is Cerberus, but most of the servants call him ‘Barry.”

“Suhbuhrus??” Galo tries and fails horribly. “Can I just call ‘im ‘Barry’ too?”

“Sure. He responds to both, anyway.”

“Oh!” Galo turns away from the tank as he grins excitedly. “Did he come with ya!? Can I see him!?”

He shakes his head as he remembers the low whine and sad look the dog gave him when Lio was saying goodbye to him as he was entering the car. “No… He stayed behind. He had a contest to go to.”

“A contest? Wait, like, a beauty contest? For dogs?? Those are _ real???” _

“Yes?” Lio turns to him with a cocked eyebrow. “And they’re actually quite good. Lots of different dogs do tricks and things like that. I got to pet some of them, too.” His face contorts into a smile as he goes on, recalling one particular contest he attended with his parents. Three puppies belonging to his more distant relatives circled around him and tickled his legs as he struggled to choose which one had to be left out without pets (at least for a few seconds). He loves Cerberus, but nothing can compare to the sheer mirth he felt at that time as the pups begged and yapped for his attention.

“Wooow, that sounds cool… I thought those were only like, TV show things.”

“TV show’s _ are _ based off of real happenings, Galo. Most of the time.

“You think I ever saw Barry on TV?”

“I don’t think so. I didn’t see any TV cameras in the contests I went to, so they were probably private.”

“Aw man, that sucks. No dog should be denied gettin’ famous! They worked hard for it!”

“Agreed.”

Lio’s gaze turns back to the aquarium, and sees the small turtle following the bigger one in a circle. The older turtle doesn’t even seem to notice him.

“The big one is ignoring him…”

“But he probably knows he’s there.” Galo adds. “He’s just not lookin’ at him.”

“He still should. It’s a kid, he doesn’t know that the bigger one’s looking out for him.”

“Hmm. Yeah.”

They watch the sea creatures swim around a bit more. Even when they land, they don’t look at each other at all.

“Hey, let’s look at the rats.”

“Sure.”

And so they do.

The rodents don’t appeal to the boys as much as the turtles did, Lio mostly cringing because he remembered a rat infestation in his kitchen that happened when he was six. It was taken care of quickly, but he couldn’t help but still feel grossed out. He mentally apologizes to the rats in the case._ ‘I’m sure you’re nice. I just don’t think we’d fit well.’ _

He expected to have the same reaction when they went to check out the spiders, but surprisingly, he felt quite neutral. The fuzzy arachnids actually looked quite cute to him now. He almost wanted to pet one of the tarantulas.

“Don’t eat ‘em, Lio.”

“Wha--I _ won’t _, thank you very much!”

He noticed the cashier staring at them and gave him the evil eye. The man jumped and went back to pretending to count bills. Yeah, that’s right. Mind your own business.

“Y’know, you’re like a cat.” Galo suddenly says.

“Huh? How?”

“You’re all small n’ cute but also have bite. But like, even when ya try to be scary you look cute.”

Lio sends him a Look as he crosses his arms. “You look twice as cute when you try to be mad, too, you know.”

“What!?” He thumps his chest with his fist. “I got a _ warrior’s soul _ ! When my wrath unleashes, it’ll be _ over _for ya, bub!”

“More like a magical girl’s soul.”

“_ Liooooo! _” He whines and stomps his foot, and suddenly, before Lio can let out the laugh he was holding in, he sees a flutter of something in the birdhouse in the back--

_ Birdhouse? _

He takes a step back from the cage when were next to, but the beast that was sleeping in side the cage had emerged in the form of a white and yellow parrot squawking and flying at the front of the cage and Lio _ screams _, grabbing Galo’s wrist with both of his hands as he bolts out of the store.

They ran a rather far distance, about halfway into the hallway, before Lio stops to catch his breath and lean against a wall in front of a cafe.

“Uh,” Galo blinks, looks back to the pet store, then back down at Lio. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m--” He coughs. “I’m fine… Just got… startled...”

“It _ was _ a pretty big bird, I guess…” Galo scratches at his buzz cut as he removes his backpack and kneels down next to Lio. When the younger opens his eyes, he sees a water bottle being handed to him and he takes it with a soft ‘thank you’ and sits down against the wall.

As he takes gulps of water, he hears some kind of ‘yooooo!’ sound and looks down to see Galo taking out his phone. Is that his notification sound?

“Oh, it’s Mr. Engel!” He smiles. “He’s asking if everythin’ is fine.” He then starts typing, slowly voicing out the message he’s writing. “All’s-good,-we-just-got-outta-the-animal-store-thumbs up-also-do-you-have-pics-of-Barry-and-can-I-see-’em-please. Aaaand send.”

“Oh, right.” Lio speaks up after he wipes his mouth. “Engel probably has some pictures of Cerberus on hand.”

“_ Heck _ yes.” Galo pumps his fist and falls over on his butt as a result, having lost his balance. He doesn’t seem all that bothered, though. “Well, while he’s lookin’ for ‘em, wanna go somewhere else? We can walk around and go wherever catches your eye!”

Lio hands the bottle of water back to the other child before replying. “Sure. I never got to see the non-clothing stores.”

“Alrighty then!” Lio brings his knees to his chest and rolls his back to the floor before he jumps up, not even having to use his hands to stand up, and Lio claps at the sight. The boy hums in satisfaction and bows to the shorter boy before holding out his hand for Lio to take it.

“Still a bit of a shame there weren’t any dogs, huh?”

“Yes, a bit.”

Then again,--he thinks, as he looks at Galo grinning from ear to ear, bouncing up and down as he tries to get Lio’s attention on the escalator to the first floor--if he wanted to see a cute dog, he’d just look at Galo.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

“Hey Lio, I know you’ve got a dog, but do you like cats?”

“I like both. Dogs a bit more, but I think that’s just because I’ve only ever had one pet.”

“Mom compares dad to a cat a lot, ‘cuz they take more time getting used to than dogs, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love their owner any less than a dog does.”

“That’s true. There’s a lot of ways to tell someone you love them.”

“Yeah! Mom said the same thing!” Galo swings his and Lio’s linked hands around. “You’re a little guy with a lot to say.”

“Well, nobody but Engel really listens to me, so…”

“I’ll listen to you!” He tugs on the hand, accidentally bringing the boy closer. “I’ll listen to anythin’ ya say! Even if it’s what kinda spider you think is tasty!”

Lio groans and returns their distance to the way it originally was. “I told you to _ bugger off _ on that!” 

“Hey, I’m serious!” Galo whines. “And ain’t that like, a British swear word? Don’t swear, Lio!”

“Ugh, fine. But you can’t curse either.”

“I won’t swear ‘til I’m eighteen!”

“I thought you were a rebel?”

“Yeah! I’m gonna be a rebel that doesn’t swear! Plus, heroes don’t swear!” He pauses to hum and put a finger to his chin. “Except, I guess, for stuff like, ‘damn’.”

Lio mock-gasps. “Galo! Language!”

“But that’s not a swear!”

“For us, it is!”

Galo groans and Lio smiles smugly.

Despite their bickering, their hands keep swinging happily in unison.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

The first floor of the plaza (which Galo refers to as the second floor because ‘It just is!!’) is filled with wonders beyond Lio’s imagination.

Galo slowed and stopped whenever something caught Lio’s eye and let him marvel at the simplest things, even a small stand selling jacket pins. There was also an arcade that the two kids unfortunately could only play a couple rounds of because Galo only had a few quarters on him and Lio only had money in paper bills. Nevertheless, Galo helped Lio practice his throwing arm at a hoop game which he steadily got better at with every throw. Together, they obtained a considerable amount of tickets and traded them for a small (at about three centimeters tall) penguin figurine. Lio took it with mirth and even nuzzled it against his cheek before storing it at a side pocket in Galo’s (who seemed to be a little red-faced, but maybe it was the arcade’s lighting) bag.

To his surprise, even stores focusing on clothing and electronics that he’s visited with his mum and dad are made fun to look around in, thanks to Galo’s commentary. They try out various shirts and jackets that are far too big on them (Lio more so. The only reason he refrained from purchasing them is because he didn’t want Galo to lug all his purchases around) and laughing at each other at how ridiculous they looked. And while he doesn’t understand technology much, the phone cases displayed by the cashier stand surprised Lio so much he was tempted to buy one despite not even having a phone of his own. He would’ve bought one for Engel, but…

“What kind of model?”

“Model?”

“You know, of the phone.”

Lio blinked and started at the cashier for a couple of seconds before skedaddling away from the store.

Afterwards, he had felt a little bit bad for not being able to recall it, but Galo patted his back and proposed he ask him later, to which Lio nodded and added it to his mental list of things to do.

Then, the similar ‘yoooo!’ sound emerged from Galo’s pocket.

“What _ is _ that sound?” Lio finally questioned.

“It’s a sound from kabuki!”

“Kaboo-ki?”

Galo snaps his fingers as he begins to explain. “It’s a traditional Japanese theater where men play all the roles, even the girls ones! The ‘yooo’ sound is played whenever a new character is introduced!”

“Ooooh... “

“I’ve only watched old tapes that my dad has of them, but I _ really _ like ‘em.” He scratches at his cheek, almost bashfully, and Lio smiles at the sight. “When we go to Japan, we’ll go see a _ real _ one together!”

That’s right… their promise. Lio smiles wider at the reminder and nods strongly. “Mhm!”

The taller boy smiles back and fished out his phone from his pocket, his thumb swiping at it. “Okay, so, what’d I get?” He taps some more with a small pout in his cheek and Lio low-key wants to poke at it, but before he can, Galo lets out a _ very _ loud gasp.

“_ Oh, my _ ** _gosh_ **.” He exclaims, eyes wide, and the younger stands up, worried that something bad happened until the other boy smacked his other hand against his cheek and squealed with the dumbest smile on his face.

“W-what? What??” Lio extended his hands out to see whatever was on the screen, but Galo beat him to it as he thrusted the screen into his face. He took a step back so he could focus on the picture and his face fell harder than his mother’s precious vase that he knocked over when he was four.

“Is this _ you!? _” 

Lio suddenly wants to run away again.

The phone showed a picture of a five year old Lio, his fancy clothes covered in toppled pieces of vanilla cake and his face half-crying, half-laughing as a snow white Samoyed dog twice, maybe thrice the boy’s size eagerly licked at his face. In the background, he sees his cousin in a fluffy dress pointing and laughing at them both. He remembers wanting _ so bad _ to throw the cake at her back then. This picture was probably taken only seconds before he sent a death glare her way and started chasing after her, Cerberus at his heels causing him to topple into the dirt.

The most eventful, yet also most embarrassing birthday of his life.

And Engel just sent his new, cool friend photos of Lio covered in messy, lemon-scented pastries.

_ Curse you, Engel. _

“T-that’s…!” He tries stuttering out, but Galo already pulls the phone away to further swipe at the photos he was given. _ ‘There’s more!? _’ He screamed in his mind.

“Oh my gosh, you had a _ bowl cut _!” Galo gushes, big dumb smile on his red face. “And it suits ya so well!”

Lio dives to grab at the phone but Galo dodges it and causes the former to almost fall face-first into the tiled ground.

“Oh wow, are you riding on his back!? Barry’s so big!”

Lio barrels into Galo’s side but the boy stands tall, holding the phone above his head. “This one is from a contest, right?” He didn’t even wait for an answer before he gasped at another photo. “Awh, you’re sleeping with him here…! It’s like a giant fluff pile! Oh, and Mr. Engel says it’s ‘Barry’ with an ‘a’, not ‘e’. Huh.”

“You thought it was ‘Berry’, as in ‘strawberry’??” Lio questioned as he jumped, arms trying to snatch the phone from Galo with little success.

“It sounded cute!”

Lio finally had enough and wrapped both his arms and legs around Galo, causing the tall boy to let out a yell of surprise as he toppled over. They both massaged at their arms and back respectively, and Galo quickly stuffed the phone into his pants’ pocket before the younger could take it, causing the latter to click his tongue.

“Why ya so embarrassed?” Galo inquired, sitting cross-legged. “I asked for pics of Barry, and Mr. Engel gave em!”

Lio switches to a kneeling position as he covers his face with his hands. “Yeah, but not of me…”

“But the fact that you’re there just makes it all better!” Galo insists, waving his fists around insistently. “Now I got photos of you _ and _ Barry on me!”

While the flutter in Lio’s chest confirms that he’s happy about Galo saying that, he still sighs with disappointment. “I’d rather you have a normal photo of me…”

Galo snorts and clicks something on his phone before he scoots closer to Lio. The boy stares confusedly at him before he sees that the camera of the phone is pointed at them, and a picture reflecting the two boys shows up. 

Lio feels Galo’s arm throw itself around his shoulders and turns his head slightly to see Galo sending a smile his way, and he returns it before turning back to the phone.

They’re not in a particularly scenic spot. They’re sitting against the wooden wall of an open cafe in a plaza, something very typical and part of Galo’s everyday life. And Lio has never been good at photos, much less smiling in them.

But with Galo…

“Say _ cheeeeese! _”

The smile comes naturally.

The phone clicks as it snaps the photograph of them smiling together, their hair tangling together as their heads press snug against each other.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

This day, Lio decides, as he halts in front of a store with an almost entirely black interior with only some red and purple accents, keeps getting better and better.

Galo doesn’t seem to be surprised that Lio liked this place, but he didn’t dwell too much on it and explored the clothing store to his heart's content.

Once again, most of the sizes were too big for him, even clothes with big holes all over them, but one made him immediately snatch the smallest size and run over to the cashier with it with sparkling eyes.

“It’s like, _ really _ big, even for me…” Galo said breathlessly, as the cashier held up the S-sized BABYMETAL shirt of the group’s girls with masks over them before folding it and putting it into a bag. “Ya sure ya want it?”

“I’ll grow into it.” Lio insisted, bouncing on his heels. “I can use it as pajamas for now.”

“Oh yeah, true! Big brain.”

“Thank you, come again.” The young man with piercings and blue-tipped dreadlocks said with a bored tone as he pushes the black bag towards the edge of the counter and Lio slides it off with eager hands.

Lio insists on carrying the bag himself over his shoulder, and Galo agrees, but only if he can carry the next thing Lio buys.

The demand turns out to be in his favor, because the other child’s next immediate purchase ends up being a [CD with an album from his favorite band](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PRoSDTZ0CA), the stone statue of a robot bust immediately recognizable to the boy after his butler showed him one too many videos of their catchy songs. Galo takes a listen to some of their tracks in the store with Lio and bops his head adorably to the music.

They wander a bit more, Lio’s hand tugging tugging on Galo’s every time he sees something he’s interested in, his eyes shining so unlike the first time they met.

Eventually, though, Lio decides he should refrain from buying too much lest his parents get suspicious and his heart immediately sinks once he’s reminded he will have to hide the things he bought when they get back. Every last one of them. 

Thankfully, at the same time, his stomach growls, distracting the other child from the younger’s crestfallen expression.

“Oh, geez, ya probably _ are _ hungry, huh?” Galo says awkwardly, like he forgot the kid was human. He quickly tries to make up for it by dragging him along to the escalator. “I haven’t had KFC in a while, let’s go to the third floor!”

“Second.” Lio corrects.

“Third.”

“Whatever.” Lio sighs before he frowns in confusion. "What's Kay-Eff-See?"

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

“Uhh,” Galo awkwardly stares at Lio biting into one of his spicy chicken strips, his own burger hovering over his tray. “You okay, man?”

Lio sniffs and wipes at his eyes, trying to stop the tears pooling in them from pouring out. “Uh-huh.” And he _ really _ is. Because these stupid spicy fried chicken legs are some of the _ best food he’s ever tried _, and that’s counting Engel’s croquettes.

“Here, have my cola.” Galo says as he pushes his drink towards the boy and Lio nods as thanks before he takes it in his small hands and stands up a little on his chair to reach the straw. “Too bad we don’t have any water…”

“Milk is better for spicy things.” Lio says after he wipes his mouth and gives the soda back to the other boy.

“Really??”

“Mhm.”

“Huh! I’ll remember that!”

Lio nods and goes back to his seat, glancing at his own tray before taking his small bag of fries and holding it out to Galo.

“Here, have some of my chips, in return.”

“Chips?”

“Yeah.” He answers, shaking the bag.

Galo squints, looking into the contents before he takes a couple pieces and leans back. “Those are fries. Also, thanks.”

“No? They’re chips.”

“Fries.” 

“Chips.”

“_ Fries! _”

“_ Chips! _”

“Aaaagh!” Galo throws his head back. “Is this another American-British difference thing!?”

“I suppose…” Lio leans back in his seat.

“Hey, if ‘fries’ is ‘chips’ in British, what do you call the chips in bags? Y’know, like Lays?”

“Crisps.”

“_ Crisps. _” Galo repeats with disgust in his voice. “That’s such a mouthful.”

Lio deadpans as he points at Galo taking a bite out of his food. “If you can take a mouthful of that burger, you can say a mouthful of ‘crisps'.”

Galo blows his a raspberry after he chews through his food and Lio, in a bold moment of realization he also has the right to do that as a fellow kid, blows a raspberry back.

They go back to eating their food, glancing to the TV installed in the fast food place, currently playing some kind of commercial for a show about a bunch of teens that can share each other's pain or something. It doesn’t look too appealing, if Lio’s honest, but Galo seems to be all too interested.

However, the commercial is short, and quickly switches to a news report, at which point both boys turn away from the telly.

“There’s so many shows about romance.” Lio notes, munching at his tortilla next.

“Well, yeah, romance is awesome!”

The light-haired child remembers all the get-together's with his distant family and how every couple there, married or unmarried, kept bickering on and on and _ on _ through the entire party no matter how many times they attended. “Is it really?”

“Yeah!” Galo thrusts his fist forward and almost knocks over his drink. “Power of love, friendship, all that stuff is cool! And a power duo defeating the villain together is like, the best way to end a show!”

“You’re still on about that…?” Lio frowns before he lets his gaze go upwards in thought. “Well, I guess romance can sometimes be nice. Engels dads seemed to be a pretty happy couple.”

“Huh?” Galo looks up abruptly. “Mr. Engel has two dads?”

“Mhm. He tells me stories about them sometimes. I don’t think they’re alive anymore, but Engel said they were really happy together. And constantly embarrassed him because they were so lovey-dovey all the time.”

“Wow…” The boy crosses his arms on the table and leans on them. “That’s like, double the dad jokes.”

“Ugh.” Lio face-palms. “That explains why his humor is so awful.”

“Dude, puns are awesome!”

Lio shakes his head.

“They _ are _!”

Lio shakes his head harder.

They both go back to eating their own (and each other’s) food, sometimes throwing fries/chips at at the other playfully before the chime of the Special News Bulletin on the telly loudly cuts through their playful laughter.

_ “In recent news, _ ” The TV reporter lady’s voice is monotone. _ “A Burnish fire was reported inside a residential building in Miami, Florida.” _

“Where ya from, anyway?” Galo’s voice unexpectedly diverts Lio’s attention from the screen and voice.

"I’m from Detroit.”

“Where is that? Like, in Britain?”

He quirked his eyebrow. “I’m not from Britain.”

“_ Really!? _” The older boy actually smacks his palm on the desk, causing their trays to shake a little. Some people gave the boy a look and he lowered his head the tiniest bit. Lio imagined floppy dog ears on his head lowering in shame.

  
_ "Twelve were said to be injured, and two deceased.” _

“But you're like…” Galo waves his hands around in a circular motion as his face looked the most confused Lio’s ever seen him. “...All preppy and British sounding! And fancy!”

“Yes, my mom is from a British family.” He leans on the table. “But she hasn't returned to live there since.”

“So, you’ve never been to Britain?”

“Only for a day. When my parents brought me on a business trip around Europe.”

“Huh. That’s still more than I’ve ever traveled.” He looks down at his near-empty food tray for a moment. 

  
_ “Out of a particular family of four, only two survived.” _

“Is that far?” Galo continues, his head shooting up. “Detroit?”

“About nine hours from here, I think."

“Ooh.”

  
_ “Matias Villahermosa-Roxas--age thirty-eight--and his elder son Gueira--age fourteen--are currently being taken into care by authorities.” _

  
“Ya know, It’s weird.”

“What is?”

Galo drew triangle shapes on his napkin with the ketchup dip on his fry. “I saw ya cry about lighting firecrackers ‘cuz ya were afraid you’d get in trouble for it, and I told ya about my parents, and stuff I was sad about…” He looked at his drawings before putting the fry away and turning his sights back on Lio.

_ “Citizens are urged to avoid contact with the aforementioned family and any neighboring occupants of the burned building. We repeat, the names of the surviving family are--” _

  
“But I’m _ just _ learning about where you’re from.”

  
Lio blinks. “Huh.”

“Priorities?” Galo provides and Lio stares at him for a bit before he chuckles.

“Priorities.” Lio attempts to mimic Galo’s accent and it’s so bad neither boy can even be mad about it. They just laugh.

“I guess because…” Lio starts after they both calm down. “I’m used to telling people where I’m from, and stuff. What my name is, what color I like…” Lio fiddles with his ribbon. “And then I met you, and we saw each other cry, and I just… had this _ feeling _, like I could tell you stuff I haven’t told anyone else.”

“Yeah…” Galo puts his chin in his hand. ”And it hasn’t even been a week yet.”

Lio shrugs. “Well, no one's saying we can’t learn about each other at our own pace.”

Galo blinks at that and stares straight at Lio for a minute before he seems to snap out of his trance and put on a grin. “Y’know what, yeah! I dunno what I was thinkin’!” 

”--_P_r_ofessional scientists have commented on the incident, citing; ’Burnish will try and go back to their past life, and, whether it’s intentional or not, harm people by doing so’.” _

“And besides…” Lio continues, and cocks his head. The other boy mimics his gesture.

_ “‘It is by our means in which we ensure that will not happen’. _”

Lio smiles softly at the boy. “I want to have more excuses to talk with you.”

Galo’s shoulders jump and he straightens up while laughing awkwardly, his hands switching between flailing about and messing up his hair. ‘_ How does it stay in shape…?’ _ “Oh--Well, ya know, haha! Me too!” He ceases his flailing to grab his cola and take a sip of it. “You can practice voicing out your thoughts to people with me n’ stuff...”

Lio actually pouts at the implication that that is the only reason he’s hanging out with him. “Well, that, and also, I like you.”

Galo crushes his cup and chokes, coughing up a storm as he thumps on his chest.

Lio quickly jumps up on his seat. “Galo!? Are you okay!?”

The boy thumps his chest one more time before hunching over the table. “_ I’M OKAY _ .” He replies, his voice croaky and hushed, indicating he was anything _ but _ okay.

“You sure?”

“_ YEAH MAN, DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT. _”

Lio still digs in into his pockets and holds out his packet of tissues for Galo to use. “Here… I think it came out of your nose.”

“_ THANK YOU. _ ” He takes them and starts wiping at his face, occasionally coughing _ into _ the tissues, too. “You--” He starts but has to stop to cough again. “You _ like _ me??”

“Um, yes? I thought it was obvious?” Lio crosses his arms as the other boy slowly lifts his head, face an odd mix between surprise and hope. “You’re my friend, of course I like you.”

Galo’s face suddenly blanks, like a telly turning off out of the blue. “Oh. Oh, of course ya…! I mean, ya…” His eyes dart around. “Oh, geez.”

“Are you _ really _okay?”

“Yeah, just uh…” He clears his throat before scratching behind his head with an awkward smile. “You’re really somethin’ huh, Lio?”

“I… suppose?” He really doesn’t know what ‘_ somethin’’ _ means, but he decides to take it positively. His face then saddens as he thinks back to Galo’s reaction. “Did you really think I didn’t like you…?”

“Huh?” Galo looks back at him and reaches out his hand in protest. “No, I--”

But Lio is quick to interrupt. “I-I know I’m bad at that stuff!” The other boy seems surprised, and so is Lio, at how he suddenly raised his voice. He immediately mellows it down. “I… I know I’m mean, and bad at telling people when I’m happy, and no one can tell how I really feel, but…” He gulps as he settles back in his seat and looks to the side, his fingers clenching at his arm. “You’re my… very first friend. And I want you to know I really like being around you. Even if I’m bad at saying it...”

He doesn’t dare look at the other boy. He’s _ so _ not used to telling people how he really feels, he just stands around and hopes they get the hint and do what he says. But Galo doesn’t deserve the silent treatment, not his friend.

“I _ relish _ the challenge!”

Lio blinks and looks up disbelievingly at the boy. “How do you know what ‘relish’ is?”

“Dragon Ball.”

“Figures.”

“No, anime.”

He sighs. “What were you going to say?”

Galo smirks. “Ya say it’s tough to know how you’re feelin’? Well then,” He thumps a fist into his chest. “I’ll take that as a challenge! I’ll continue gettin’ to know ya better n’ better ‘til I know how ya feel aaaaall the time! Everyone’ll think we’ve got a psychic connection, but _ no! _ That’s just how good of a duo Galo and Lio are!”

“Again, with the duo…”

“I’ll take up that challenge, but…” He suddenly pauses and his face turns serious as he narrows his eyes. “On one condition.”

“What…?”

“When I get how ya feel wrong…” He turns sheepish all of a sudden, massaging his neck. “Ya _ gotta _ tell me. Okay? I can still be an idiot sometimes and not get things, ya know? It takes time for me to learn stuff.” His smile then turns soft as he reaches over the table, hands splayed out, palms up. “And I want ya to be able to tell me anythin’, Lio.”

The younger of the two didn’t even realize he was holding his breath until he reached his hands over to clasp over Galo’s. “I feel like I already can, though.” He taps his fingers on Galo’s left wristband. “It’s weird.”

“_That’s _ how good I’ll be at tellin’ how ya feel!” Suddenly speaks up Galo. “Even better than now! Ya start that sandwich, I’ll _ finish _ that sandwich!”

The shorter one squints. “Wha…??"

He didn’t have time to think over that metaphor(???) however, because the blue-haired boy’s hands suddenly caught both of his in a firm grasp and tugged him over so he’d lean over the table and bring the two boy’s faces closer together.

“Just remember this!” Galo announced, blue and red eyes staring right into the other child’s, “I’ll be here for you wherever you go--” And he grins so wide his toothy smile almost reaches his eyes. “Lio!”

The warmth in Lio's heart is unfamiliar. Foreign. Alien.

But he'd be lying if he said he didn't like it.

And he just agreed to promise Galo--no avoiding talking about how he feels.

He feels a bit breathless, though, too much for his little child body and mind to take, so he just lets the smile bloom on his face as he returns Galo's fond look right back.

“Yeah, I know.” He says, because these are the only few words that can describe the cavalcade of emotions he's feeling right now. “I know." He repeats, because saying it once just didn't feel right. And, as a cherry on top, he mimics the boy's iconic grin as he adds; "ありがとう."

Galo seems to be feeling the same _ something _ as Lio, if his slightly strained smile (like he knows how he's feeling but at the same time _ doesn't _) is anything to go by.

But he returns the gesture with enthusiasm nonetheless.

"あと、よろしく！"

And, well, Lio doesn't quite understand that sentence, but he gets the intention from it that Galo wanted to pass on.

And that's a good start, if he's ever seen one.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

When they finish their food and clear out the trash from their trays (“Leaving food behind in a fast food place is impolite, Lio.” Galo says and the recipient nods. In a way, this place is more cultured than any five-star restaurant he’s ever been to), Lio notices the sting on the back of his feet. ‘_ Seriously? Again!? _’ he curses at himself as he adjusts his shoe so it doesn’t touch the spot that’s hurting, with little to no avail. He keeps going, however, forcing himself to grin and bear it as he catches up with Galo.

“We should probably be heading back, huh?“ The older boy proposes over his shoulder, and, despite feeling like the day just started, Lio has to agree. It was close to five in the evening, and it was better to call their play-date off early so he can stash away his souvenirs before his parents come back and start questioning him.

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Galo holds Lio’s hand as the younger struggles to get on the escalator down, and feels a sense of accomplishment when he doesn’t even trip.

When they’re out of the plaza, however, the heat outside hits the boy all at once and he immediately feels faint, causing him to stumble.

“Whoa, are you okay!?”

“Mhm.” Lio automatically responds, adjusting the tote bag over his shoulder as he takes a step forward only to cringe at the sting in his foot once more.

To his chagrin, Galo notices what’s bothering him almost immediately. “Your legs again?”

“No…” He taps his feet on the pavement. “Just these shoes.”

“Hmm…” Galo puts a hand to his chin before he snaps his fingers. “Oh! I’ll just carry ya then!”

“Again…?”

“What, you don’t like it?”

Lio doesn’t respond and just walks towards Galo, but stops when he realizes the boy is still wearing the backpack. “Um…”

He seems a little confused before he adjust his shoulder and remembers that he has something blocking Lio from getting on. “Oh, yeah!” He then steps back a little and wiggles his eyebrows at the other child, grabbing one strap of the bag. "Yo, check this out."

“Okay.”

Galo takes off his bag only to put both straps on his arms the wrong way, so now he’s wearing the backpack on his front. Then, he spreads his arms wide. "_ Boom. _"

Lio squints, half utterly confused, half in absolute awe and half because he’s pretty sure he’s about to pass out. That’s three halves. Whatever. "You look dumb." He comments absentmindedly and he may not know much about clothing, but he’s pretty sure that’s a crime against _ some _ kind of fashion police, so it’s fair for him to say that, right?

Galo doesn’t seem to take offense as he smirks and poses. “Your very own dumb, most charming steed, milord! Climb on, and we shall be off!”

That gets a snort out of Lio, at least, and right as Galo kneels, Lio gets an idea and removes his shoes, putting them in his bag with the shirt. Only then does he climb on the boy’s back, arms hooking around his neck as he lets the tote bag dangle from his hand in front of Galo. Hopefully it won’t get in the way_ too _much…

Galo stands up after Lio is settled in and makes a neigh noise as he starts walking. 

He tries to make conversation as they (or rather, Galo) go along, but Lio can only respond with non-committal “mhm”s and “uh-huh”s. The blue-haired boy doesn’t fault him for it, bless his heart, and talks for the both of them. Lio’s grateful. It distracts him from any bad thoughts.

Thoughts like; he’s weak, all this walking and playing with Galo these past few days and he still finds an excuse to have Galo carry him like the spoiled child he is. How this is all because of his fancy shoes. How Galo would probably do _ ▲nything to get a nice pair like these and here Lio is, complaining about having them because they’re a little uncomfortable _

But Galo’s not greedy. He’s just happy to help his friend out. To carry him back, even with all the luggage. Because they’re friends, and Galo likes him. He wants to stay with him and asks nothing in return except the boy’s trust, which he already has, in its purest form, no less.

He’s such a dork. Such a selfless dummy.

Lio likes him so, so much.

“One day,” He manages to croak out, and Galo turns his head slightly so he can hear him. “I’ll get strong. And then, I’ll be able to carry you, too.”

He hears Galo’s slightly obnoxious laugh all too close, as he has his ear pressed to the back of the other child’s head. He can clearly picture the grin he has at the moment, the sun shining on them through the gaps of the skyscrapers only accentuating his shining face. “I look forward to it! I believe in ya, Lio!”

Just hearing that makes Lio smile sleepily and tighten his hold on Galo’s neck, mentally threatening himself to _ not _ forget this promise as he slowly falls into slumber.

The hot wind blows past them, but all that matters to him right now is the warmth of Galo’s back against his chest.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

“Heeeeey.”

“Mmmmpf.”

“_ Heeeeeeeey _, wake up. I gotta get ya on the bike.”

Lio slowly lifts his head. He doesn’t even know if he slept or if he was just in a weird state between being awake and asleep, because he vaguely remembers the whole walk to the centre.

Anyway, Galo bends his knees as he lets the shorter boy down and stand idle while he puts the backpack on properly and readies his bicycle. Once he gets on it, Lio sluggishly sits on the bike like he previously had, holding on to the railing with one hand and the the tote bag with the other.

They start off a bit wobbly, probably due to Lio’s purchases adding to the weight. But only the beginning is scary. The rest of the ride goes smoothly.

At least, until they cross the city border.

“Dude, stop wiggling.” Galo warns.

“Sorry.” Replies Lio, but he doesn’t know if he’s capable of fulfilling his request. He’s still so, so tired from his nap, he keeps adjusting the bag sitting on his thighs, and the incoming headache is not helping his balance at all.

“Do ya want me to stop?”

“No.”

“Seriously, ya don’t look too hot.” Galo adds with worry laced in his voice. “I can--”

“No.” He repeats, noticeably more agitated.

They can’t stop now. If he’s late, his parents might come back before he can hide his things. Heck, maybe they’re _ already there _ and he’s about to get the punishment of a lifetime for going out unsupervised, with the boy his mother forbade him to speak with.

Lio notices the bike is starting to slow and his eyes widen. “I’ll stop just for a sec so you can--”

“_ No! _” Lio shouts and shoots his head up, catching only a glimpse of the other child’s shocked expression before he realizes his mistake.

In his moment of impulse he shook the bike with his hand and kicked some other part with his leg, causing both the boys to completely lose their balance in surprise of it all and tumble into the asphalt road.

It takes a few seconds for the pain to register in Lio’s body, and when it does, he tries his best to hold in his yelps as he pushes himself up on his arms and knees, only to hiss loudly when he feels his knee sting and almost _ stick to the ground _.

Unable to decide whether he should more or not, Lio awkwardly hovers his shaking knee over the ground, too scared to even _ look _ at it. His breaths get uneven too, as tears start pricking at his eyes and his lip wobbles. There’s a pain in his side, too, probably from the impact, and he doesn’t think _ it’s bleeding but what if it is-- _

  
A pair of arms coils around Lio’s torso and hoists him up before sitting him down in a more normal position, and he can’t even focus on Galo because his knee is bleeding and it hurts--his hands hover over it, not knowing what to do, like that’s somehow gonna help, like some sort of healing power will awaken inside him and it’ll go away in an instant but _ no, he’s still sitting there, and it still hurts, and it’s still bleeding and he’s crying _

A loud ‘thunk’ interrupts Lio’s thoughts and he finally looks away to see Galo’s backpack unzipped on the ground and another, smaller red bag beside Galo himself, with an unusually serious expression on his face as he dabs something from a yellow and green tube into a ball of cotton wool. He then scoots closer to the boy, his unoccupied hand coming up to clench just below where Lio’s wound is.

“This is gonna sting a bit. Hold your fists _ real _ tight, okay, Lio?”

The boy blinks and sniffs, wiping at his eyes before he nods and does as Galo says.

The cotton ball comes in contact with his scrape and Lio lets out a hiccup before he clenches his fists even _ tighter _, holding his breath as he takes the pain and thinks of other things. Cheesecake. Croquettes. Cerberus. Engel. Galo. His new shirt. All of today.

By the time Galo’s finished putting whatever he was applying to Lio’s knee, the latter had entirely puffed up his cheeks and opened his eyes only to see Galo’s already putting a gauze pad over the wound and smoothing it out.

Galo huffs out a breath and wipes at his brow with a forearm before he addresses Lio once more. “There. Ya hurt anywhere else?”

The pain in Lio’s side has actually more less faded, and he doesn’t think he’s hurt anywhere else, so… he shakes his head.

“Okay, good.” The boy smiles with relief as he stands up and holds out his arms for Lio to grab on. “Can ya stand?”

Lio grabs them with slightly shaking hands and tries to pull himself up with the other older boy’s help, but ends up with a cramp in his injured leg and ends up falling back on the ground on his butt, involuntarily dragging Galo down with him.

This ends up with the older boy landing on Lio, and despite himself and the situation they’re in, Lio starts laughing. Yes, he’s crying still, but the amount of care coming from another person his age after such a long time away from any contact with kids like him, it triggers an odd switch inside Lio that causes him to tightly hang on to Galo’s shirt in a semi-hug. Albeit it’s in a bit of an awkward position because Galo was getting up on his knees so he could get up, but froze immediately when he saw how Lio was acting.

“You--” He starts as he circles his arms around the boy, one patting his back and the other carding through his downy hair. “You sure you didn’t hit your head?”

Lio shakes his head against Galo’s chest, getting some snot on it in the process. “No.” He begins to wipe at his eyes as he leans back to look up at Galo, who’s casting a shadow on him, as the taller boy’s back is facing the sun. “Just confused as to why an eleven year old has a med kit.”

Even with the shadow, he recognizes Galo’s shy grin as he messages the back of his head. “I get a _ lot _ of bruises when I go out on my bike.”

“You don’t say.”

“I _ do _ say! I just told you.”

“Idiot.”

“Does it still hurt?”

“A little.”

“Hmm.” Galo then scoots back and puts both his hands on Lio’s knee. “Lemme try somethin’.” 

“? Okay.” Lio isn’t sure how much more Galo can help with this, but he gives the child permission either way.

Galo nods as he’s given permission and starts slowly massaging the wound. Lio lifts an eyebrow.

“いたいのいたいのとん--” Galo quickly swipes his hands to the sky, like he’s throwing something away. “--でいけ ! ”

The wind blows past them as Galo stays in that awkward pose, his arms outstretched to the sky and his face in a serious pout, before Lio bursts out in laughter.

“What was that?” He asks, still smiling, despite himself, and scrubbing at his eyes. This time, to wipe away tears from laughing.

“It’s a Japanese thing!” Galo insists, pumping his fists up and down. “When someone gets hurt, you massage the scrape to get alllll the pain in your hands, then say somethin’ like, ‘Pain, pain, go away!’ and then you _ toss _the pain away!”

Lio giggles at that and tilts his head up at the boy. “That’s very nice… Thank you.”

“Hmm…” Galo keeps pouting, however, as he cranes his neck to the side and crosses his arms in hard contemplation. “Well, I guess since it’s a cultural thing, maybe ‘cuz ya don’t believe it, it won’t work on ya…”

The younger’s shoulder sag. Is that a thing? “Oh…”

But then Galo gasps and puts a hand to Lio’s wound again. “But I think I know a magic trick for gettin’ away pain that even _ you _ know, Lio!”

Lio is a little annoyed at the reminder that because he’s sheltered, he doesn’t even know many legends or myths that are typically known among people. But can he be blamed? Ever since he heard that black cats were bad luck he deemed rumors like these stupid and ignored them. But if Galo wants to see if whatever he has in that crazy mind of his will work… “Go ahead.”

Galo blinks before he lowers his head to the bandaged spot and--

Oh.

His face reddens. Yeah, Lio knows that one.

Galo lifts his head and wipes at his mouth, no doubt the taste of medicine and wool is not pleasant at all. “It’s not a mommy kiss, but it’s a kiss, right?”

Lio tilts his head. This dolt… “With how you are, I think it’ll work.”

“Hey!” The shy smile on Galo’s face morphs into a scowl as he crawls closer to Lio, holding one fist up like he’s ready to fight. “What’s that supposed to mean!?”

_ ‘Caring. Kind. So much it’s dream-like, so much I have a hard time believing you’re not just my perfect imaginary friend.’ _“A gullible dummy.”

“Aw, c’mon!” Galo whines as Lio stands up on slightly shaky legs as he pats himself down. 

“Thank you.” He turns to Galo and smiles. He probably looks like a mess, but who cares. Not Galo. And he’s sure Engel will understand. Eventually.

The older stares at the younger for a bit before he signs and musses up his hair. “You’re welcome! Now, c’mon.” He accentuates with a pat on Lio’s shoulder. “Let’s getcha home.”

“We should collect all of our things first, don’t you think?”

“Oh, _ shoot _!” Galo claps his hands and scuttles to their scattered bag, their contents mostly splayed out all over the side of the road. “You’re right!”

Lio shakes his head as he helps the boy collect all of their things into their respective bags.

Once they’re done, they pack up and get on the bike together, riding towards the Fotia estate once more.

As the hot summer air blows past them, much clearer now that they’re in the countryside, they make cheerful small talk.

And, perhaps more importantly, they don’t crash anymore.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

The two boys stand side by side awkwardly, fidgeting and looking around.

In contrast, Engel is standing straight, arms crossed and a smile so sweet and still it causes both of them discomfort.

“Galo,” The mentioned boy jumps. “Where’s that matching knee bruise?” He asks, expression never changing.

To his credit, it only takes Galo a moment before he swings his fist at his knee. Thankfully, Lio grabs his arm just in time.

“Galo, he’s kidding!”

“Oh.”

That gets a worried laugh out of Engel. However, he quickly reverts back to butler mode as he kneels down and examines Lio’s leg. “Really, what happened?”

“We fell off the bike…” Lio supplied. “But Galo helped me.”

“Well, this is nicely done, I do have to say.” Engel cocked his head in admiration as he let go of Lio and turned to the other boy instead. “You do this sort of thing often, my boy?”

“Huh?” The taller of the two children scratches at his buzz cut before he looks away, stuffing his other hand in his pants’ pocket. “Oh, well, sorta. I fall off my bike a lot.”

Engel blinks. “Really.”

“M-mhm.”

“Hm.”

Lio doesn’t quite get what’s going on, but he sends a warning look Engel’s way nonetheless in case he’s somehow threatening Galo in some way. The man gets the message, thankfully, and stands up.

Lio then turns back to Galo and takes his hands in his.

“Thank you so much for today!” He smiles broadly up at the boy. “I had a lot of fun.”

Galo laughs haughtily as he squeezes Lio’s hands back. “Well, as expected of the Great Galo Thymos! Where should we go tomorrow?”

“Oh,” Lio blinks. “I actually have no idea…”

They both hum loudly, mulling over possible ideas in their heads. Then, Engel speaks up. “How about the beach?”

The children perk up and stare up with shining eyes at the man before switching their gazes back on each other.

“The beach!” They both say at the same time and do a double high-five.

“But… how will we get there?” Lio asks the real question.

Engel puts a hand to his chin as he tries to provide a solution. “The mister and missus are heading out into the city tomorrow, so our cars will be occupied…”

“We can bike there!”

“No, it’s far too much of a distance, I’m afraid.” The older man quickly shuts down Galo’s idea.

“Really? Me and my parents always bike there.”

The butler actually looks slightly disturbed at that information. “Goodness, that’s about ten miles! How much stamina does your family have!?”

“We’re just _ really _ stubborn.” Galo says with a blank face before he suddenly smiles again. “And since it’s such a long distance, I can teach Lio how to bike while we’re going there! Right!? That’s enough time to go swimming, too!”

Engel looks to Lio for an explanation only to get a shrug and a fond smile. He sighs. “Something we have to keep in mind, however…” He frowns as he re-adjusts his monocle. “Weather forecast indicates there will be rain in the area later in the day. So we’d have to leave early.”

“But the water’s _ best _ when it’s raining!” Galo insists once more. “The water gets really warm when it’s raining?”

Lio’s eyes widen. “Really?”

“Yeah! It’s really good!”

“I can actually attest to that.” Engel nods. “But there’s a chance it might turn into a storm. So we can’t take risks.”

“Oh…” Galo finally gives in as he rubs at his neck. “Okay, that’s fair.”

The elder smiles once more, in the usual sly way he does. “Glad we could come to an agreement. And, just so you know…” He leans over so he’s mock whispering to Galo as he points at Lio, barely even trying to lower his voice as he does so. “Master Lio can’t swim.”

“Engel…!” Lio is about to chew him out but doesn’t have the time to before Galo’s smile lines up the area.

“That’s fine! I’ll teach him!” He shouts, far too eagerly, as he throws an arm around Lio. “There’s nothin’ to worry about with lifeman Galo Thymos at your side!”

“Lifeguard.” Lio corrects.

“Same thing!” Galo waves it off. “I have morning practice with my group tomorrow, but after that, I can ask my parents to take us to the beach with their car!”

“Will they agree…?” Lio nervously asks. He’s sure Galo’s parents are good folks, from what the boy’s said about them, but then there’s the memories of Lio’s parents and his uncles and aunts, and suddenly he starts cringing every time he hears the word ‘parent’.

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t.” Galo shrugs. “Dad’s working at home, but mom should be free all day!”

Lio still has his doubts and anxieties, specifically about possibly getting to meet one or both of Galo’s parents and having to go through the stressful act of introducing himself to a new friend. He gulps and nods. “Alright.”

“Okay!” The older boy claps him on the back before pulling away. “So, same time tomorrow?”

Lio looks up at Engel, who gives a satisfied nod, then he turns back to Galo and smiles. “Same time tomorrow.”

“Nice! Okay--OH! Right, before I forget!” Galo lets go of Lio and digs out his phone, quickly tapping away at it. “Lio doesn’t have a phone, so…”

A video game sound effect buzzes from somewhere. Specifically, Engel’s chest pocket where he keeps his phone, and he fishes it out with practiced ease. His butler demeanor immediately crumbles as he lets out a high-pitched gasp at what Galo just (Lio presumes) sent him.

“Can you keep this for Lio?” Galo request, putting the device away. “I want us both to have the photo!”

“I will print this out.” Engel says in a serious, monotone voice, and ah, Lio knows which photo they’re talking about now.

Galo shakes his hand dismissively, however. “Ah, you don’t have to--”

“Actually, I’d like that.” Lio interrupts, to the other boy’s surprise, putting a finger to his chin. “I think it’d look good on my desk, in a picture frame, or something like that.”

Engel claps. “Marvelous idea, milord!”

“Um…?”

The two nobles acknowledge the boy’s existence again as they smile at him. “Thank you for this. We apologize if we got too excited.”

“No, it’s fine! Also, what breed is Barry? ‘Cuz when I heard Sir-bear-russ I thought it’d be like, a bulldog.”

“Barry? He’s a fluffy Samoyed.”

“A sah…?” Galo tilts his head.

“A what?” Lio adds, just as confused.

“Can I just call him a ‘little boy’?”

“You know, I agree with that.”

“That isn’t--”

“_A little boy_!” The two children chant and Engel is powerless to stop them.

“Alright, I gotta get home.” Galo announces, and nearly barrels towards Lio so he can hug him. Lio, though momentarily frazzled, returns the embrace.

They step away after a few long seconds, parting with a “じゃね!” and a “またね!”.

Right after Galo gets on his bike, he shouts towards them; “Can you get Lio some more comfy shoes, please!? Thank you!!”

And then, he waves, Lio waves back, and the boy is off.

He hears Engel tapping at his phone and Lio looks up at him to give him a Look.

“Are you setting our photo as your phone wallpaper?”

“Maybe.”

Lio sighs. “Help me hide some of the stuff I bought?”

“Oh, absolutely.” Engel reverts back to butler mode and takes the items Galo had left behind in the black tote bag. “I’ll hide them among my luggage for now, so that he others won’t find it while cleaning your room. Is that fine?”

While Lio’s a bit sad he can’t even let the CD be out on display because it’d imply he’d gone out, he smiles. “Yup. Thank you.”

“All in a day’s work, sire.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re doing more than just work, now.”

“Your father specified that I shall ‘do anything and everything his son wishes, lest it be something foolish’. Having a bit of fun is anything but, so if he has any complaints, that’s his own fault.”

Lio laughs and Engel shares it with him.

Lio may not have many people in his life, but he’s grateful for the ones he does.

He puts his hand to his chest, his heart beating unusually fast. He already can’t wait for tomorrow.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

At around nine, as Lio resumes to read his book, he hears a car pull up in front of the house. He glances out his window and sees his parents get helped into the mansion by two servants.

Almost immediately after the door closes, he hears bickering downstairs and tenses up.

He closes his book, turns off his lamp, jumps to his bed, (not bothering to change into his pajamas just yet) and hides under the covers, covering his ears.

It helps. He can still hear the voices a little bit, but it significantly helps. In the meantime, he focuses on his breathing under the stuffy duvet, hoping everyone will go to sleep soon enough.

Time passes.

He hears his door open and Lio focuses on breathing regularly. He didn’t have to do it for long, because he hears it close almost immediately. When he finally reveals himself from under the covers, he sees noone. Seems like one of the servants was just checking up on him.

Lio lays back down.

His parents are still yelling.

He covers his ears once more.

About an hour passes and the arguing has only gotten worse.

Why haven’t they gone to sleep? Lio thought they were drinking adult juice (thanks, Galo) and that’s why they were bickering so late. What’s going on?

Lio focuses on his breathing for a few more moments before he groans and gets out of bed. He can’t sleep like this.

He digs into his suitcase laying on the floor (he didn’t bother to unpack. They’re only here for a week, after all) and digs out a bunch of clothes, drags them into the bed and makes a him-shaped pile by the pillow. He then covers it with the duvet, patting it. There. Should be enough to fool the servants.

As quiet as he can, he opens the door to his room, looking both ways to make sure the coast is clear before he closes it behind him, pitter-pattering his way to the stairs.

Gradually, he starts hearing his mum and dad’s voices more clearly. They’re arguing about about their work. While they’re on _ vacation _. Lio can’t even bring himself to be surprised anymore.

He doesn’t get most of it because they’re using pretty big words, but it’s something about salaries, workers leaving, how Dad is on his phone all the time but does ‘bugger-all’ about it. Lio goes down the stairs as slowly as he can, keeping to the wall so that no one will potentially see him from the main room.

When he clears the stairs, Lio gets on his knees and crawls forward just a bit so he can see into the salon. His parents are sitting on opposite couches with three servants, including Engel, bringing water and trying to appease the couple.

He doesn’t see Sera anywhere, though. That’s strange. She’s usually at his mother’s beck and call.

His mum interrupts her own husband as she claps her hands and yells; “How’s our son supposed to inherit our business when his father knows nothing about his _ own job _!?”

Lio immediately tenses.

“Then he won’t, he knows nothing about it anyway!” His father argues back. “He does nothing except sit in our house all day, and when we’re on a trip he does the exact same thing! Day after day! _ How _ do you expect him to take after us!? _ How, _Mintha!?”

‘_ I would love to do anything outside the house. Literally anything. If only you two would just let me t▲lk--’ _

“You’re not listening to me, you won’t let me explain--!”

“_ Please _ explain it to me. I would _ love _it if you could explain--”

“You’re not _ listening _ to me--!”

The exchanged shouts are enough cover for him to get up and start running to the front door. He hurriedly puts on ▲ pair of shoes and leaves through the door as discreetly as he can in his state of p▲nic.

He immediately starts running to the west, towards the sunflower field, towards the city, as tears start to prick at his eyes and cover his vision.

He walks along the small dirt path that he and Galo had traveled as he bre▲ks down crying. Why is it always like this? Why is it that when something nice happens to Lio, his parents always have to ruin it somehow? They didn’t even look at him, they didn’t even _ see _him and he’s still driven to run away into some field, crying like the child he is.

He had such nice day. He bought things for himself. He made a wish on a fountain. He spent time with his friend, held hands with him, had him take care of him. Went through all the trouble of driving him to and from the estate. And Lio still has to end tod▲y crying.

‘_ I’m sorry _ .’ He apologizes in his head. ‘ _ I’m sorry for being so we ▲ k. _’

Galo deserves better than someone so fragile. So easy to break. But what can he do? Wh▲t will he _ ever _be ▲ble to do?

He sniffs and looks up at the sky. At least the sky is clear, unlike his future. The stars are shining brightly in the countryside, unhindered by the artificial lights that he’s so used to. 

Until he sees something dark billowing into the sky.

He blinks and lowers his head.

Something is shining, farther in the sunflower field.

What is that?

Despite himself, or maybe because Lio is not in the right state of mind right now, instead of ignoring whatever that is and going back home, he continues walking forward.

As he does, he notices the light is off the path, and goes between the sunflower stems to examine it.

He only takes a few steps forward before the light billows out and pushes the boy back to the path.

He yelps as he drags himself away from the source of the smoke.

Fire.

And not just any fire.

“Burnish…!?”

Lio scrambles to stand up on shaky legs as the fire continues to spread, consuming the sunflowers and turning them into ash.

“Why is there…?” He asks, before taking a few steps back. The fire is re▲lly not letting up. He should run. He knows. He _ knows _ , but he’s rooted in _pl▲ce, ▼▼▲tching the fire dance as it cr▲ckles, spre▲ds and continues to burn_

He’s suddenly grabbed by his arm and dragged back.

“Master Lio! What are you doing here!?” A female voice questions and he looks up in shock. 

“S-Sera?”

“I thought you were sleeping! How the hell did you get here!?” She accuses as she wraps her arms around the boy and hauls him into her arms. “It’s dangerous!”

Lio is frozen in the maid’s arms and can only watch the fire spread as she hurries to take them back to the mansion.

In a daze, he says; “I hope they’re okay.”

“Huh? Who?”

“The person who made that fire.” He supplies, watching the smoke billow and spiral into the shining, night sky, its indistinct shape fading as the air takes it. “I hope they’re okay.”

Sera considerably slows for a moment before picking up her pace once more.

“I doubt that, sire.”

Lio tightens his fist into Sera’s shirt.

The fire continues to spread, yet the farther they run, Lio can’t help but think that it looks somehow sad to be left alone. 

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

One of Lio’s father’s butlers is on the front lawn smoking a cigarette when he sees him and Sera running from the field. “Sera? Is that master Lio with you? What’s going o--”

“There’s a Burnish fire in the field!” The woman interrupts, voice stern and commanding. “Call Burning rescue. Right now!”

“Burnish?” The man gasps. “But how--”

“_ Now, Colum! _” She shouts and Lio tightens his grip in her dress at the raised voice.

“Y-yes, ma’am!” He finally gives in and puts out his cigarette with the heel of his boot before running back inside.

“Let’s get you to your room.” Sera says and Lio doesn’t have much say in the matter, even as he hears the commotion in the house somehow get _ worse _ than it was before.

Sera marches up the stairs quickly and opens the door to Lio’s room, placing the boy on the ground.

“_ Stay. Here. _” She says, more like warns, with a stern voice before she closes the door.

Lio is left in his room, dumbfounded and trying to breathe regularly again. It all happened so fast he doesn’t know when he stopped crying.

Still not quite feeling all there yet, Lio absentmindedly changes into his night clothes and heads to his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

The noises in the house are even worse now.

He’s definitely not going to be able to sleep, but he closes his eyes and tries, anyway.

To his surprise, the voices slowly fade out as sleep takes over Lio like a freight train.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

_ He’s standing outside the mansion, the area around it caught in pink and turquoise flames that encompass the Fotia summer home like walls. _

_ Where the entrance should be, Lio sees a figure, similarly colored to the fire. _

_ His curiosity takes over him as he starts walking forward towards them. _

_ They have no form, but they’re human. He doesn’t recognize them, but they feel familiar. There’s fire all around them but all Lio feels is a pleasant warmth. Much more bearable than the dense sunny days in Promepolis. _

_ Once he’s close enough, he reaches out to what he assumes is their arm. _

_ “Hello?” _

_ He touches their shape-less hand and they turn around to reveal their face, the flames boring out of their eyes and mouth. _

_ And they’re staring straight at Lio. _

_ But he doesn’t feel scared at all. _

_ The fire oozing from their mouth moves. _

** _◤⍜⊑ ⊑⟟◢_ **

Lio wakes up, frightened.

Not because of the dream, though. The weird language of the creature, chipper in tone, confused him more than anything. 

What startled him awake was the noise outside.

It’s raining. No, not even that. It’s _ hailing, _the small ice blocks tapping loudly on his window.

Lio groans and lays back down, covering his ears with his pillow.

Then the door suddenly opens.

“Master Lio? Are you still awake?” A female voice calls out, hushed.

Lio’s too tired to play dumb. “Yes.”

“Can I turn the lights on?”

“The lamp.” He mumbles and he hears heels clicking as the figure walks to his desk, turning on his desk lamp.

Lio squints as he lets his eyes adjust to the light and focuses on the woman taking a seat on the chair.

He blinks a few more times before he speaks again. “Sera?”

“Sorry if I woke you.” She says, and she sounds quite tired. He can’t blame her, with all that’s happened. And that’s not counting whatever went down while he was sleeping. “How’re you feeling?”

“Okay.”

“You’re pretty calm about the whole fire thing.”

“It’s in a field. It won’t spread that fast.” He says before he decides to frown and stare directly at her face. “My _ friend _ told me that.” 

‘_ You know. The one you snitched on to my mother. _’

“Ah,” She at least has the decency to look guilty as she pushes her fringe out of her eyes. “Right. I came to apologize about that, actually.”

Lio deadpans.

  
“Don’t give me that look. I’m serious.” She starts massaging at her neck. “You’re just a kid, and you should have friends. Every kid should. ‘s just.” She looks away. “My sis’ birthday is coming up, and I need money to get her a present, and I was frustrated from running around in a long-sleeved dress all day--” She stops suddenly and shakes her head as she turns her eyes back to Lio. “ _ Ugh _, I’m just making excuses. I’m sorry. Genuinely. For snitching on you.” She bows her head as she does.

Lio’s still unimpressed. “Mhm.” 

“You don’t believe me, do you.”

“Mhm.”

Sera groans and crosses her legs as she leans back in the chair. “Can’t say that I blame you, I guess…”

“You’re apologizing to _ me _. So, yes.”

“Uh? What?”

“You’re apologizing to a child.”

“Yeah…? So?”

“You’re…” Lio is actually a loss of words after trying to repeat himself a third time. She’s his mother’s haughty, all-knowing maid with the same rank in the family as Engel. Surely, she must know what he means, right?

“So what, just because you’re a child, it’s embarrassing to apologize to you?”

Lio is the one to look away this time, with a face scrunched up like he just ate something sour.

“God, what is the mistress teaching you…?” Sera brings her elbows on her knees and messages at the spots near her eyes with her pointer and middle fingers. “It’s even worse than I’ve thought.” She looks at Lio again as she brings the chair closer to the bed. “Listen; Even kids deserve apologies. You’re still human, for criss’ sake. Not some animals with pint-sized brains.” She crosses her arms. “And so am I. We all make mistakes. But I know parents can just be total jackasses.”

Lio sits up as he stands his ground. “How do I know you’re not apologizing to me to suck up to my mum?”

“If I wanted to do that, I’d apologize to you in front of her. You’re not the one that signs my paycheck.”

“What’s a paycheck?”

“A thing where... your boss gives you your money every month.”

“Oh.”

They both stay quiet for a bit, but the hail outside continues to rage on.

“What happened to the fire?”

“Got put out.” The maid replies. “Seems like the hail helped mellow it down, too.”

“Did they find out who did it?”

“No. Seems like they got outta there quick after starting the bonfire.”

“I see.”

Sera frowns. “Why’re _ you _ sad? The entire mansion could’ve been burned to the ground, you know.”

Lio stays quiet, feeling guilty when he answered with ‘whatever’. “It’d be sad.” He says, instead. “To watch the whole field go up in smoke only for the person who started it to not get help.”

“It could’ve been some fu--_ jerk _ who just wanted to set something on fire for fun.”

“If they used normal fire, then maybe. But Burnish…”

He doesn’t finish that sentence, and she doesn’t get the chance to as he feels his hair get ruffled roughly.

“You’re a weird kid.” Sera casually says, and when Lio looks up, to his surprise, she has the smallest hint of a smile on her face. “But at least your heart’s in the right place.”

“Thank you…?” ‘_ I think…? ’ _

Sera retracts her hand and stands up.“So, yeah. If you’re meeting with that kid again--I’ll make it up to you. Distract Lady Mintha so you’ll be left alone tomorrow or something.”

Lio blinks up at her and… doesn’t really see any sign that she’s lying. The girl just looks awkward and out of place. “Okay. Thanks.” No harm in taking up the offer, he guesses.

“Okay. Cool.” The woman nods and turns off the lamp before she starts slowly walking to the door. “Get some sleep. It’s been a long night.”

“You too.”

“Yep. Goodnight.” Sera bows slightly and just as her hand is on the doorknob, she turns to the child again. “Sorry, again.”

“You’re forgiven.” Lio replies. He’s not being quite truthful, but he’s not exactly lying, either. Nevertheless, it has the effect he wanted, as he hears Sera mutter out a ‘thanks’ before she leaves the room.

Lio flops back on the bed. Well, that was awkward.

He’s not sure how he feels. Not worse, but not exactly better either. He’s never had an adult apologize to him before, not even Engel. When Lio got mad at him, the man just waited things out and occasionally bought or made some food for Lio as an apology, brushing off their argument, saying ‘It’s in the past.’ and a soft smile. However, he never pried or rushed Lio to forgive him when he was angry, so he’s thankful for that.

Today is the first time he’s heard a humorless, genuine ‘sorry’ from an adult. And it was from Sera. Huh.

The rain continues outside.

Lio lies awake for a bit longer as his eyes flutter shut, tired from today and the entire fiasco. 

He doesn’t have any more dreams that night.

  
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;) https://lingojam.com/AlienLanguage
> 
> Includes a (very) subtle reference to Dreamtiel's GueiMei fic, "The Slowest Kind of Burns"! READ IT ITS SO GOOD ---> https://archiveofourown.org/works/20139385/chapters/47711824 
> 
> Thank you so much once again to everyone who gave kudos, commented, and the Promare Hell server!!! <3 <3


	5. Day Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEE i finally finished this!

The first thing Lio sees and hears when he wakes up is rain.

He sits up groggily, focusing on his surroundings before frowning. It’s been raining since yesterday. Surely, It should’ve stopped by now?

Getting up and walking to the window, he notices, with relief, that there’s no hail anymore. However, looking down, he sees the pathway in the lawn glistening, not even a spot left untouched by the rain, and from what he can see of the road, it looks like a flowing river.

Not exactly beach weather, but he can manage.

It is a bit cold, though. Lio walks to his closet and brings out his longer pants. He’s glad his mother insisted on him bringing these, now. If this is what the weather is gonna be for the rest of the day, he might end up sleeping in them.

His thoughts go to Galo, next. His classes consist of running outside, right? What are they going to do in the rain? Are they just going to run circles inside a gym? Sounds nauseating. So much that Lio actually shakes his head and goes back to dressing up.

_ Maybe his classes will get cancelled’ _ Lio thinks and immediately mentally slaps himself for it. He shouldn’t be thinking that! Unlike Lio, Galo actually _ likes _sports. It’s way too early to be selfish. 

At least, he thinks. He can’t really tell what time it is because of the clouds blocking the sun’s placement.

As Lio steps outside his room, he takes one more look at the window.

He hopes it’ll clear up soon.

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The estate is more lively than usual, Lio notes as he walks down the stairs. Because of the rain, all of the servants are inside, cleaning up and preparing for the next trip.

“God, it’s _ still _ raining.” He hears one of the butlers by the window say. He’s crowding at the window, along with another servant and a maid.

“At least it looks better than last night.”

“Is it? It looks _ worse _to me.”

“Weather forecast said it’s gonna be like this for the rest of the day.” The youngest of the group commented. “Man, and Lord Phrixus _ still _ wants to go visit that museum and restaurant despite all this.”

“You know what that means,” The maid sighs as her shoulders sag. “Holding up umbrellas above the sir and lady for the next eight hours or so.”

The older-looking of the butlers shakes his head. “Goddamn climate change.”

“What? That stuff is _ real _?”

“Andrew,”

Lio walks past them to the kitchen.

Looks like he’ll be swimming in warm waters today.

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🔻

His mum and dad are already at the table when he arrives at the dining area. They exchange ‘good morning’s as Lio sits down.

“Luv, are you alright?” His mother leans down so she can look him in the eye with a worried look. “I hope you weren’t too scared by the commotion yesterday…”

“I’m alright. I fell asleep quick.”

“So has Sera told me… Would you like to go with us today, to get your mind off of it? We’re going to visit a historical monument, you know.”

“I’m fine. As long as Engel stays with me, I’ll be alright.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm.”

“We should pay him more for putting up with you, hm?”

Lio’s breath hitches at that. “Mm.” 

“He shouldn’t be going out in the rain, anyway.” His father intercepts, not looking away from his tablet. “Remember last year? When we went to the city, a storm came and he had a fever for the rest of the trip?”

“That was _ two _ years ago, wasn't it? And yes, I remember. Poor thing, you couldn’t even get out of bed.”

He didn’t have to be reminded. It was the _ only _ memory he had of that trip. Laying in bed, deliriously looking around the room for hours on end and occasionally pushing himself up so he could throw up into the bowl by his bedside.

And the worst thing is he wasn’t sure if he preferred spending time with his parents over _ that _.

They’re handed their breakfast by the maids and start to dig in. Lio doesn’t really have the appetite, however. So he slices the eggs into tiny pieces and chews slowly.

“Didn’t he throw up in the car, too?” His father adds with a mouthful of bread.

“Oh, don’t remind me. I was glad it only got a _ little _bit on my dress.”

“Come now, it was a _ marvel _ to watch you get so miffed over a small splatter when the floor of the car looked much worse.” He laughed. “You almost got out of the car as it was still driving! Aren’t I right, my boy?”

“I don’t remember.” More like didn’t want to. 

“Ach, you didn’t seem all that bothered despite it all.” He reached over to ruffle Lio’s hair roughly with a grin. “Because you’re dada’s boy and you’re one tough lad, aren’t you now?”

_ ‘Yeah, because I didn’t want to bother you. _

_ It should’ve bothered you. A lot.’ _

When he only responded with a noncommittal grunt, his father groaned and backed off.

Lio’s mum and dad go back to making small-talk and laughing while they eat their breakfast. They’re being surprisingly chummy despite their giant argument yesterday, not even beginning to mention the fire. Are they ‘coping’ with what happened by laughing about it or are married couples just weird like this?

Lio continues picking at his food a bit more before he looks at the clock. It’s--

“Twelve-fifty…?” He tries to hide the surprise in his voice at the last second. His parents give him a weird look before they turn to the clock as well.

“Oh bollocks, you’re right!” His mother exclaims as she gets up. “We should be going already! It’s almost one, Phrixus--you keep looking at your phone, you should _ tell _me these things!”

“It’s a tablet, and it’s not just for looking at the time, you know.” His father hurries as he taps at aforementioned device and gets up from his seat as well.

“It’s literally in the middle of your screen when you turn it on!”

Lio slides from his chair as fast as he can, his breakfast not even half-finished.

“Lio?” He hears his dad call after him as the boy runs into the hall. “Did you change your mind?”

Lio almost stumbles over a servant’s legs when he stops after reaching the window showing the front lawn. Said servant, after regaining his balance, leans down to level with him. “Um, my liege, I’m sure the rain will clear up soon. Your parents will be fine. And Maro is a great driver!”

That’s not what he’s worried about.

Where’s Galo?

As far as he can see through the rain and fog, he can’t see the boy anywhere on the lawn, or his bike, or some sort of car that he’s supposed to arrive in along with his mother.

So what’s going on?

“Master Lio?” He hears Engel call out from behind him after the previous butler left.

“Galo’s late.” He says in a hushed voice, so that only he can hear.

“I’ve tried calling him ten minutes ago, but he did not pick up.”

Lio grabs an umbrella from the stand by the door and starts putting on his shoes. He notices they’re different than the ones he was wearing yesterday.

“Ma-master Lio?” Engel, understandably, sounds rather taken aback at his sudden course of action. “Where are you--?”

“To the bus stop.”

“What bus stop?”

“The one by the end of the sunflower field.”He finishes tying up his laces and taps them once each before grabbing the handle. “Thank you for changing my shoes.” He says, turning back to Engel with a smile. “I’ll be right back.”

“Lio--” The man tries reaching out for him, but the door is already closed.

Lio opens the umbrella. He stumbles as he opens it. It’s much too big for him, the handle more like a scythe to him, clearly meant for an adult three time his size, but this just means he won’t get wet at all. With that thought in mind, he starts running towards the entrance, and after crossing the border of the estate, runs along the side of the road to the left.

The water under his feet splashes loudly, covering his shoes and socks in muddy water (he _ is _running right by a flower field, after all), but he doesn’t care.

He just needs to see if the feeling inside his chest that’s leading him here is right or not.

So he keeps running.

And running.

And running.

He’s out of breath and panting like a dog.

He keeps running.

Until he finally sees the familiar shape of the small, wooden bus stop, looking even more moldy and sad now that it’s raining.

What he doesn’t recognize though, is the weird mangled mess next to it.

He can’t quite make out its shape, so he crosses the street as he switches to walking so he can catch his breath.

He ends up needing it, because once he travels a long enough distance, he recognizes the shape as a bike. Galo’s bike.

He starts running again.

“Galo!?”

His footsteps slow as he finally reaches the small shack, and sees what’s inside it.

  
“Galo!”

It’s him in the flesh, sitting on the moldy bench with what appears to be a broken umbrella by his feet. He’s more interested in Galo than the parasol, however, and the reason why he’s not responding.

“Galo? Can you hear me?” He calls out again, stepping into the shack and out of the roof. He notices there are still some rain drops getting through the cracks, but it’s to be expected. It’s old.

He holds the umbrella over Galo’s head (he only now notices he’s wet from head to toe, and his shirt is smeared in a thick, brown stain) as he leans down. “Galo!”

Galo blinks, his head finally tilting up, and he practically jumps when he sees the other boy’s face close to his.

“L-Lio!” His voice sounds a little weak, and his arm comes up self-consciously to rub behind his neck as he does so.

Lio’s eyes widen.

“What are you doin’ out he--”

The boy’s voice dies out as the younger drops his own umbrella, one hand grabbing at Galo’s arm and the other at his face.

“Who did this.” He doesn’t ask, he _ demands _ an answer. “Where are they.”

“Um--”

“I’ll have Engel _ kill _ them--”

“Lio, you’re scaring me.” Galo whines with a pitch in his tone, and it brings Lio back to his senses as his grip softens and the taller boy turns his face to the boy’s palm, trying to hide his face.

He can’t say he blames him.

Galo has a bruise by his face and eye, currently not visible to Lio as the boy is trying to hide them. On the other hand, the purple spots and what appear to be claw marks (they’re not from an animal. That much he knows) clearly visible. Galo’s right arm appears to be half-wrapped in bandages, like he began to patch them up and then just gave up (and oh, he _ hates _ saying that and associating it with Galo). Only then does Lio notice the open backpack and medkit to Galo’s right. 

And worst of all, there’s tears forming in his eyes.

By that point, Lio has enough and wraps his arms around Galo’s neck in a tight hug. Galo reciprocates by twisting his hands in Lio’s pristine, white shirt. Whatever. He has like, four dozen more. What matters now is keeping Galo here. To make sure his mind doesn’t wander off wherever it was before Lio found him.

Galo sniffs, visibly tries withholding his sobs as he buries his face in Lio’s chest. He lets him, petting his head by running his hand along his buzz cut.

The older boy starts pulling him to his left, and Lio correctly interprets it as asking him to sit down. So he does.

Immediately, he feels Galo’s hand wrap around his, squeezing it tightly. Lio reciprocates, and grabs the umbrella from the ground to hold above them before scooting closer so that their shoulders are touching and sharing heat to keep away the rain.

Lio doesn’t know how and _ if _ he can help. So he just holds on to Galo’s hand as long as the boy lets him, while he controls his sobs and tries to calm down, taking shaky breaths in-between. He actually sounds close to hyperventilating at some points, at which Lio places the umbrella on his right shoulder and places his other hand on Galo’s. It seems to help a little. Not a whole lot, but enough to bring him down back to Earth.

Lio doesn’t question it. He just somehow knows it’s what Galo needs right now.

The rainfall continues.

Eventually, Galo’s breathing steadies, at which Lio decides to take it as a cue.

“Feeling better?”

The other boy gulps before responding with a choked out “Kinda.”

“What happened?”

Galo’s face sours, and Lio immediately backpadals. “Not now?”

“Not now.”

“Okay.”

“Um,” Galo clears his voice. “How did you know I was here?”

“I just knew.” Lio shrugs. “You were really late, and you didn’t pick up when Engel called you, so I had a feeling you’d be here.”

“Oh…” Galo’s expression is neutral and Lio can’t quite read it. “‘m sorry. I couldn’t hear it ‘cuz of the rain, I guess.”

“How long were you out here?”

Galo hums and shuffles in his seat before answering. Lio takes one of his hands away from their linked ones to hold on to the umbrella and readjust it on his shoulder. “I ‘unno.” He mumbles.

“It’s about one, by now.”

Galo finally seems a bit surprised. But he still doesn’t answer.

“When do you usually finish practice?”

“Um… We were supposed to end today at eleven.”

“‘Supposed to’?”

“We…” He gulps. “Some other kids got an extra hour in ‘cuz the coach said we were slacking off or something.”

“Were you?”

“No? I don’t think so…”

“I’m going to kick his knees in.”

“Lio…”

“Sorry.” It’s a habit he sort of picked up from Engel. He loves the man, but he _ should _ still watch what he takes after him, even if he is the only adult in his life he can really trust.

“But yeah, um. That’s why I was late. Sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. But…” Lio lowers his head so he can get a better look at Galo’s face beneath his bangs. “You were here for… at least half an hour. Aren’t you cold?”

“I had my jacket.” Galo tugs at something behind his back and Lio notices it’s the red jacket he was wearing two days ago, during his run with his group. It’s soaked, dirty and coated with mud, and Lio feels like if he poked at it, his finger would sink into it like slime. He shudders. “But while I was riding here--” He pauses to rub at his arm. “I guess the road was really slippery, and I just. Crashed. And got hurt.”

“Is anything broken?”

He shakes his head. “Just bruises. Speaking of, how’s your knee?”

Lio blinks. “I haven’t even noticed it.”

And for the first time today, Lio sees Galo’s smile, and it’s like the sun peeked out of the clouds for just a moment. “That’s good.”

It leaves as soon as it arrives, because Galo turns to look at the rain pouring in front of them.

“Still. This rain can buzz off.” He pouts. “We were supposed to go to the beach today, and I was supposed to teach you how to ride a bike, and…”

Galo’s sounding a lot like Lio’s thoughts when he’s really sad and he doesn’t like it. So he squeezes his hand. It seems to work, and Galo mellows down.

"I hope the rain doesn't stop." He says with little thought, looking ahead.

“Huh? Why?"

"If it doesn't, I'll get to stay here forever."

Lio doesn’t see his expression, but Galo’s grip on his hand tightens, and he can feel his hard gaze on him.

“I’d like to just stay here with you. And Engel. And any other kids who don’t like their families, or feel left out.” He continues. “Just us, away from the world.”

He feels Galo’s fingers twitch under his. “I don’t know…” He says, just above a whisper. “...If I’d like that.”

Lio blinks at that, snapping his head towards Galo. “Why not?”

“Cuz…” Galo’s feet kick under the bench. “It’d be nice if we could all just learn to… I dunno. Tolerate each other, at least. And not have to hide or run away.”

“That sounds impossible.”

“So does living away from every other person on the planet.”

Lio doesn’t have an answer to that, as hard as he tries, and he feels anger bubbling up before pushing it down. He hates having his proposition shut down, be it his parents or anyone else, but it hurts more when it’s Galo. Especially since he has a point.

He doesn’t like it, but he has a point. But is it so bad? That he just wants a break from his parents? From any people that refuse him to be himself?

He sighs and looks back up at the rain.

"You're leaving in two days." Points out Galo.

"Mhm."

The silence is unbearable, strained. And Galo’s hand is still cold.

Alright, that’s enough.

“Hey.”

Galo finally looks at him. “Hi."

Lio smiles. “Let’s run.”

He sees the boy’s eyes slowly light up. It takes a bit, but a small smile appears on his face before he strongly nods.

With movements that appear considerably slower than usual, Galo packs up his things and steps into the rain for a moment to nab his bike and drag it under the bus stop’s roof. “It’s busted.” He explains. “I’ll come back for it later.”

“Are your legs okay?”

“I should be asking _ you _ that.” Galo counters, laughing a little, grabbing the parasol out of Lio’s grasp and holding it above them. Lio pouts, which spurs another chuckle from the boy. The younger rolls his eyes, and settles for Galo’s hand instead.

“Ready?”

Galo nods, and the two boys begin their countdown.

“One,

Two,

_ THREE! _”

And they were off, the water splashing under their feet and getting their clothes even more dirty. They didn’t care.

Galo slows down at one point asking Lio if he should carry him, to which Lio refuses with a smile. “We’re running together!” And that was a good enough answer for Galo.

Eventually, they reach Lio’s mansion and they both slow to catch their breath. The front door opens and they see Engel run out with his own umbrella towards them, ushering the boys inside.

Once they’re inside, they both shake their bodies like wet dogs, to Engel’s dismay.

“Whoa…” Galo marvels, looking around as they start to take off their shoes. “Your place is _ huge _.”

“My real house is bigger.”

“Dude, you weren’t kidding when you said you were loaded.”

“Loaded? With what?”

“‘Loaded’ means ‘rich’ in American, milord.” Engel adds, bringing them a fresh towel each to dry off with, from seemingly out of nowhere. The boys mutter out polite ‘thank you’s.

Lio turns to look at Galo after giving the towels back to Engel and sees that the boy had stepped significantly closer to him, with a shocked, almost fearful look. He’s confused up until he glances at what he’s staring at and freezes.

His mother is there.

“Lio, who is this?”

Lio’s scared. He’s short of breath. Engel is right there but even he can’t save him from what he had gotten himself into. When he ran out to look for Galo, he hadn’t thought ahead. Didn’t care about the consequences of possibly having to bring the boy to his house, fully knowing his parents were still there. He’s _ scared _.

But Galo must be more scared than he is.

So he steels himself to put on his practiced, neutral face as he grabs Galo’s trembling hand. “My friend.”

“Your friend.”

“My friend.” He repeats.

“The one from before?”

He gulps quickly. “Yes.”

She noticeably sighs. “Lio. What did I say?”

He doesn’t actually remember (his emotions at that time completely overtook him, and it seems his memories as well), so he diverts the question. “He was in the rain. He was freezing.”

“That’s not an excuse.”

“Yes it is.” He counters. “He talked with me when I was feeling sick. I’m only returning the favor. That’s proper manners, isn’t it?”

His mum looks a little taken aback, he notices with an ounce of glee. “_ Don’t _ raise your voice at me.”

He wasn’t. “He’s a guest. I need to treat him well, right?”

“He is not _ my _guest.” She takes a step forward and points at herself.

“No. He’s mine.”

She goes silent, and her gaze turns to Galo, who jumps beside Lio and hides behind him a little. Lio continues to stand tall (as much as he can with his height), his eyes never leaving his mother’s.

“He’s as wet and sad as a dog.”

“So am I.”

“Hasn’t even introduced himself yet.”

Lio’s face breaks and he frowns. ‘_ Because he’s _ ** _afraid_ ** _ !! Of COURSE he’s too scared to speak up! You wanker!’ _

He’s about to say something along those lines and most likely get himself in trouble, but he feels Galo take a tentative step forward. “My name is Galo Thymos.” He starts, lacking his usual zeal, but the politeness matching the time he introduced himself to Engel. “I’m eleven years old. I live in Promepolis, and I’ve been talking with Lio for a couple of days now!” He bows deeply. “It’s very nice to meet you!”

Lio sighs through his nose in relief when he sees the stern expression on his mother’s face soften just a tad. Galo comes back up and continues his tangent. “I’ve been hanging out with him throughout the week and showing him around, but I didn’t know he would get in this much trouble because of me. I’m really sorry.” His other arm comes up to flail around. At this point, Lio guesses it’s a nervous habit of his. “But I’m really happy when I’m around him! And when I’m talking with him! It’s really fun! And Lio’s been having fun, too!” Lio feels his mother turn her eyes back on him and he flinches, his face feeling a little warm. “So please don’t be mad at him! He just wanted to see the area! There aren’t any rabid animals around here! Or any animals! Well--” He scratches at his head. Another habit? “I guess there are some bugs here, but none of them are poisonous! It’s true, I swear! So please don’t be mad at Lio! Please? Ma’am?”

Lio sees Galo and his shining, puppy eyes, and instantly feels a little weak, in a good way. And when he turns to his mum, he’s shocked to see she’s squinting her eyes as if she was staring at the sun and looked away. Were Galo’s charms stronger than his!?

“If spending time with you caused my son to have so much trouble now…” She says, playing with her hair. “Then maybe you should not be ‘hanging out’ with my son if you are the cause of so much of his problems, hm?”

“I run with him.” Galo quickly replied. “And I showed him to be less scared of escalators, bugs and firecrackers! Lio teaches me a lot of stuff, but I think I do some things for him too, even if it’s not much!”

“Firecrackers…?”

Lio’s face scrunches up. He has _ no _ idea where this is going. Is this good?? Is it?

“Lady Mintha, if I may…” Engel spoke up and oh, Lio almost forgot he was here. “I have been in contact with the boy whenever he was out with young master Lio, and even accompanied them. He is a very honest boy. A little bit too honest, if I may add.”

After his appeal, Lio’s mum puts her hands on her hips, seemingly not very sure as to how she should respond. “That’s not the point…”

“Mintha? Are you ready to--oh, who is this?” Oh good, now his father’s here. He just walked down the stairs and right in the middle of the commotion, Sera trailing after him. The maid looked especially surprised to see Galo there.

“Phrixus,” The lady of the house turns to her husband. The entire servant body is starting to crowd around the corners as well, watching this all go down. “This is the boy that was spending time with our son.”

“Oh, nice to meet you.” His father greets the boy with a small bow and amazing casualty.

“My name is Galo Thymos! I’m eleven years old--” The boy goes through nearly the same introduction as he had with his mother, save for--“I really like your son! Uh, hanging out with your son! He’s really cool! I mean, I like him too, but--!”

He’s interrupted by his father’s laughter. “I get it, I get it. I’m Phrixus, Lio’s father. A pleasure, Galo.” He knocks his shoulder against his wife’s with a quiet ‘I like him’ before looking back at the boy, his smile dissipating. “Uh, are you quite alright? You look quite bruised, there.”

“It’s only a scratch, sir!” Galo’s usual idiocy and zeal seems to have come back and Lio lets himself relax the tiniest bit at the temporary return to normalcy.

“We… can’t send him out like that, can we?”

“But he--” 

“Mintha…” He interrupts. “He’s ten.”

“Eleven!”

“Same thing. Mintha. Really now. At least until the rain stops.”

“We can just have someone drive him back home.”

“Andrew already took one car to drive our things to the hotel. And Maro has readied the car.”

She sighs. It’s the intimidating sigh his mother does when she knows she just lost an argument.

“I won’t cause any trouble!” Galo speaks up again. “I’ll...I’ll stay here for a bit, and then I’ll leave. I won’t break anything! I promise! As long as Lio is with me, everything will be okay!” He emphasizes as he tightens his hold in his and Lio’s intertwined hands.

His mother blinks for a few, excruciating seconds before giving her answer.

“Engel, you’re coming with us.”

“Pardon?”

“Sera, stay with them.”

“Pardon me too?”

“And Colum can stay, as well.”

“Pardon me three?” The younger butler seems a bit taken aback but recovers easily when his boss gives him a sour look over her shoulder. “I mean--Of course, milady.”

“Just make sure they don’t do anything stupid when we’re away. Engel, you’re a good butler, but I don’t trust you to not be lenient.”

Engel looks to the side, not having ability to retort that. Poor guy… Maybe he does spoil Lio a bit too much. “Of course, milady.”

“Good. Now that that’s settled… We’re off.” Lio’s mum kneels down next to him and kisses his cheek. Lio grunts in disapproval. “Be good while we’re away. And you…” She turns to Galo, who forces a big smile, and whatever his mother was about to say dies on her tongue as she stands up. “You… be good, too, Thymos.”

“I will, ma’am!”

She nods and smacks her lips, stepping around them to the door. The servants follow after her, along with Lio’s father, who pats both of their heads as he walks by them, causing their hands to break their link in order to let him pass through.

Engel stops kneels down next to Lio after mostly everyone had left. “I’m sorry, boys.”

“We’ll be fine, Engel.” Lio smiles. “Good luck with mum and dad.”

“I’ll need it.” The man sighs fondly before breaking out into a laughably fake sob as he grips one of Lio’s shoulders and wipes away a tear from behind his monocle with the other. “But oh, I will _ miss you _, milord! So much…!”

Lio rolls his eyes. “Just _ go _. Get yourself a lemonade or something.”

Engel immediately drops the act. “Oh, I _ will _ get one, and criticize it, too. I make handmade lemonade, you know. I’m a certified food critic.”

“I know, Engel.”

“Remember that time I made you a fruitcake?”

“No.”

“Yes, me neither.” Engel quickly says as he pats him on the back. He actually _ had _ made Lio a fruitcake in the past, but it tasted so horrible to the both of them that they gave it to his parents and pretended it was a gift, not sad leftovers. They agreed to not talk about it since.

"Take care, boys." The man says with a wave and as he leaves, he sends a rather grim glare Sera and Colum's way. Sera reciprocates it while Colum jumps and hides behind her.

Once everyone leaves and the door closes, Sera sighs and gestures to the salon. "Come on, kid. Let's patch you up. Colum, bring out the first aid kit."

"Me? Uh--Yes, ma'am!" Colum stumbles as he follows after her. Lio grabs Galo by the hand again, but he seems rooted in place.

"Come on." He says, tugging on his fingers and the older boy is brought out of whatever stupor he was in, following in Lio's footsteps as the owner of the house led the way.

"Lio?" He speaks up.

"Hmm?"

He feels his hand being squeezed lightly. "Thanks." He says, quieter this time and Lio turns his head behind him to see Galo smiling softly and massaging his own neck. "You were really cool back there."

"It was nothing." He returns the smile. "You'd do the same for me."

They continue walking, but not before hearing Galo whisper "Really, really cool…" under his breath in an amazed, fond voice.

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Galo is set on the sofa as Sera tends to his wounds, Colum handing her whatever she needs at the moment. She removes the half-wrapped bandages from Galo’s right arm (they stick to his arm due to the rain and all the boys in the room cringe at the nasty sight), revealing a quite nasty scrape.

“Damn, kid, did you get into a fight or something?” Sera says, putting a ball of wool with some medicine on it to the dirty bruise and Galo flinches a bit. Lio automatically presses his hands on Galo’s so he has something to hold on to.

“I… fell.” He’s clearly lying, but Lio doesn’t think the other wants to be called out right now.

“Had to be a damn nasty fall. How do you explain the scratches?”

Galo kicks his legs under the sofa, then stops after realizing that it’s probably really expensive. He hums with uncertainty, to which Sera sighs. “Colum, light up the fireplace. It’s cold as t--_ heck _ today.”

Colum nods and leaves to do as she says while Sera finishes bandaging up Galo’s arm, moving to his knees next. “God, you reek. We should get you a change of clothes or something. Lio should have something that’d fit you, at least for a bit while we wash them.”

“Huh?” Galo waves him bandaged arm around, nearly hitting Lio with it. “N-No, it’s fine! I’m good--!”

“You wanna get an infection? Didn’t think so.” Sera cuts him off and Galo shuts up. “You can take a shower while you’re at it, too.“

“Like… in the rain?”

“No, genius, we’re not _ that _ mean. Lio has a jacuzzi by his room, though.”

Galo turns to Lio with a disbelieving look. “You have a jacuzzi!?” He whispers harshly.

“I don’t know why, but yeah.” He shrugs.

“Dude.” He hisses suddenly as Sera starts putting some salve on the bruises on his knees. “That should be enough, I think. Let’s put this away.” She says, standing up and packing up the kit. Colum notices and comes over to help as well as take Galo’s wet jacket (it left some wet stains on the couch… ew).

“Young master Lio, come with us for a sec?” She suddenly says as she’s leaving and Lio’s startled for a moment before looking back to Galo, who nods at him with a small smile. “I’ll be right back.” He says as he hops off the couch and trails after the maid.

“He okay?” She asks after they’ve gone far enough from the salon.

“I don’t know.” He lowers his head as he mumbles. “I hope he will be.”

“Well, just try to cheer him up for now. I’m sure he’ll feel better if you try to take his mind off it.”

“What should I do?”

“What do y’all usually do when you’re together?” She throws the question back at him as she opens the door to the kitchen.

“Um…” Lio thinks back to earlier this week. Day one, they walked through a field as Galo gave him a lecture on samurai. Second day, They went bug catching and set off firecrackers. Third day, they got ice cream. Fourth, they went to the city. So... they do a little bit of everything, he guesses? “It depends? We talk a lot, though.”

“Then do that.” She turns her head just enough so Lio can see the side of her face. She’s smirking, he notices. “Whatever comes naturally to y’all.” 

Lio blinks before nodding hesitantly as the woman puts away the medkit. He thinks to the boy’s wounds, and how sad and… _ pathetic _ he looked, soaked in the rain and mud, with all the wounds, and the far-off look in his face that Lio hated to even think about.

“Why would anyone want to hurt Galo?” He says it the moment it comes to his head.

Sera’s quiet for a bit before she responds. “Humans are jerks.” She says and Lio feels a coldness pool in his stomach. He almost wants to _ cry _ from how _ mad _ he is. Galo's been nothing but kind and understanding to him. How could anyone want to hurt someone nice like him?

“But, well,” Sera continues, ruffling his hair as she starts walking towards the door. “If he’s gonna tell anyone what happened, it’s probably you, right?”

Lio blinks at that.

He’s about to ask something (more guidance? Something else? He doesn’t know himself) when suddenly, in the bathroom next door, they hear the clanking of the washing machine, indicating it had just been turned on.

“Wha--did he turn on the washing machine already--_ Colum! _ ” Shouts Sera, stomping to the door and pushing it open with a force that almost takes it off its hinges. “Wait until we got _ all _ their clothes, you goddamn idiot!” 

Lio hears the man scream in terror and decides to quickly escape the scene before it escalates.

After he jogs down the hall and back to the salon, glancing into the room, he sees that Galo is absent from the couch, to his confusion.

“Galo?” He calls out, looking around the room, and spots the boy right by the fireplace, hand outstretched towards the fire. He thought that he was just warming up, but his arm was coming dangerously close to the flame, and it’s actually _ touching it just barely now _

Lio starts running and without thinking, barrels himself into Galo’s side, knocking them both over.

“Ow--Dude, what the--!?”

“What were you doing!?” Lio sits up, practically shouting in Galo’s face. “You almost got burned!”

The boy looks up at him, confused. It’s really odd to see Galo from this angle, Lio notes. “Huh?”

“The fire!” He grabs the older boy’s right hand and examines it. “You almost put it in the fire! You don’t have to get that close to get warm, you dummy! You’re not burnt are you? Do I have to call Sera?”

“Call me for what?” A female voice cuts his rising panic as Sera enters the room.

“Galo almost put his hand in the fire…!” He stood up, using his grip on Galo’s hand to pull him up as well. “C-Can you check if he’s okay…!?

Sera’s eyes widen as she comes closer and takes Galo’s hand. She blinks. “He’s alright, but what the hell are you doing, kid!?” She lets him go and stands tall, frowning down at the boy as his shoulders tense. “You could’ve gotten hurt! Have you never been near a fireplace before!?”

“I have! It’s just--” He stutters, feet shuffling. “It looked like there was… I heard…”

The other two wait for him to continue, and when he doesn’t (he looks confused at his _ own words _), exchange glances. If Sera looks worried, then Lio’s expression must look dreadful. Eventually, the maid closes her eyes in thought.

“Lio, take him to your room and get him cleaned up. Give him some of your clothes. I’ll bring you some food later.”

Lio’s still shaken at what just happened, but decides to follow the girl’s orders as he grabs Galo’s hand. “My room’s upstairs. Come on.”

Galo looks noticeably guilty, like a dog that just got scolded for shredding his new toy in half, as he nods and follows in the boy’s footsteps.

Lio looks back as they exit and sees Sera kneeling down next to the fire, staring straight into it in a similar fashion that Galo had been just a few moments ago. The sight makes him a little sad, somehow.

“You really didn’t hear anything?” Galo whispers to him.

“No. Did you?”

Galo stays quiet for the rest of the way as they head up the stairs.

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“Woaaah, your room’s so big!” Galo marvels once the door is closed behind them.

“Is it?” Lio shrugs as he walks to the bathroom, the other boy trailing after him. “It’s pretty small to me.”

“What do rich people need all that space for!? Trophy cases?”

“Their egos.”

“Wow. Self-burn.”

Lio turns to him with a deadpan expression. “Yeah, that’s what you almost just did.”

“No, like, a burn is an insult.”

“I don’t understand slang…”

“It’s okay, I dunno what slag is either!”

Lio shakes his head and enters the bathroom. “The bath is here.” He says, pointing to the giant, triangular bathtub infused to the wall. “You can leave your clothes by the door, and I’ll give them to Sera.”

“Oh, cool!” Galo exclaims, running to it and grabbing the rim. “How do I turn on the jacuzzi?”

“There’s buttons on the side, there.” He comes closer and points to the settings buttons on the right by the wall. “Just don’t set them too high, or the water will come up to your head and get in your mouth.”

“How do ya know that?”

Lio looks to the side. “No reason.” Galo doesn’t need to know that the first time he had tried to use it by himself he had cried out for Engel to help him and get him out of there. He doesn’t need to relive that memory right now. Even if he already is. Ugh.

Galo immediately presses the button with the highest setting, despite Lio’s warning, and Lio sends him a Look. Galo just grins.

Of course, all that comes out is weird, whooshy sounds out of the pipes. “It doesn’t have water in it yet, you dolt.” The shorter says, turning the setting off.

“Oh, right. So, do I just…?” Galo reaches over to the tap in order to turn it and while trying to do so, slips on the carpet. Lio grabs him by the shirt just in time to pull him back and prevent his forehead from colliding with the ceramic, thankfully, and the bath starts to fill with water.

“Uh, yeah, like that. And be careful! You can use the towels or the bathrobe. I have a spare.”

“You got a bathrobe!?” Galo shouts and looks to where the aforementioned garb is hung, running to it and immediately throwing his face into it. He muffles something against it that Lio vaguely makes out as “Oh my gosh, it’s so fluffy!” as he nuzzles his face into the material. The younger boy sighs contentedly at the sight, happy to see Galo back to his usual, dorky self.

“Okay, let’s do this!” Galo says, grabbing the back of his shirt and dragging it over his head before throwing it haphazardly on the floor near the door. Lio puts his hands up in panic.

“Wh--Not in front of me, you wanker! I’m still here!?” He screeches, and Galo looks up confusedly at him.

“Huh? We’re both kids, so it’s okay, right?” He barks out a laugh with hands on his hips.. “It’s okay, Lio! I stopped sharing dressing rooms with girls just a little while ago! And we’re both guys, so it’s totally okay!”

“Aaagh, that’s not the point!” Lio stomps his feet to the door and exits, shutting the door. “Leave your clothes by the door! When I come in, you better be in the bath!”

He hears an amused and slightly confused ‘Okay’ and waits a few more minutes by the door before he hears some hisses from the boy, indicating the water was probably too hot and then splashes of water. “Okaaay, you can take ‘em!”

Lio opens the door just a tad and sees most of the boy’s dirty clothes right near the door. He drags them towards himself and after he’s done, closes the door. “I’m going downstairs now. Don’t drown while I’m gone.”

“I woooon’t!”

As he walks down the stairs, Lio ponders what he could give Galo while his clothes dry. He could give him his pajama pants, they’re a little too big on him, anyway. But for shirts, that’s a whole different story. All of his shirts are button-ups and he doesn’t want the boy to run around with an open shirt and get a cold…

An idea springs into his brain and his eyes go wide. He hurries his pace to the laundry room and places the dirty clothes in the basket messily before running back up to the second floor once more and taking a right.

He’s so glad he remembered the number to unlock Engel’s suitcase now.

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Lio walks back into his bedroom, balancing the things he was carrying in one arm as he does. He digs into his suitcase for his spare pair of loose pajama pants and adds it to the pile on his arms before knocking on the door.

“Galooo? Can I come in?”

He hears fervent splashing and stutters from the boy, to his confusion, followed by some consecutive beeping. “Uh--in a sec!”

Lio’s cocks an eyebrow before coming to a realization and sighing. “Galo, did you pick the strongest jacuzzi setting?”

“No!” A few more beeps. “Maybe??”

“I’m coming in.”

He immediately sees the problem; Galo is kneeling in the bathtub with his arms awkwardly in the air as the bubbles from the pipes are causing the water to splash at his face and eyes. It seems like he had already added bodywash to the water too. A lot of it. It’s practically up to his ears.

“I was away for like, four minutes.” 

Galo’s fist emerges from the massive bubble tower to wave it around and splash more soap water around. “That’s what ya get for leavin’ me unsupervee-sahd!”

“Unsupervised?”

“What is that, a superpower?”

“Ugh, let me help you.” Lio places the clothes (and something else) on the floor besides a basket and walks to the bathtub, setting the jacuzzi to be at the lowest level, and the bubbles immediately come to a stand still.

“There,” Lio puts his hands on his hips with a pout. “Now _ don’t touch that _ until you’re not covered in soap anymore.”

Galo’s hands emerge from his bubble armor to grab at both of Lio’s arms and laughs gleefully. “My hero~!” He cheers with mirth.

“H-Hey, your hands are wet!” He flushes and tries to tug his arms away from the other boy’s hold. “Let go!”

“Aren’t your clothes already dirty? You were plannin’ to get in the bath anyway!”

True. They might have used a big umbrella, but they ran so fast their boots kicked up the mud so far it ended up landing on his shirt, too. Whoops. “Yeah, by myself!” He still argues.

And for some reason, Galo looks utterly shocked as his eyes go wide. “Wait, huh? We weren’t gonna get in together?”

“No!” Shouts Lio. “What are you, stupid!?”

“My mom and I still take baths together!”

“Well _ I _ don’t!” With a grunt, Lio finally escapes Galo’s grasp and nearly falls down as he does. “Just don’t pull the plug on the water! I’m getting in after you get out. So don’t stay there too long.”

Galo sinks back into the bathtub enough so that only his eyes are visible, and he looks slightly like he’s covered in a giant fur coat and hat. The additions of the boy’s arms hanging over the rim of the bathtub and the Galo Brand Puppy Eyes™ only cause Lio’s face to redden more at how cute he looks.

“_ Pleaaaase? _”

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“How much soap did you put in??” Lio asks in bewilderment as he shakes his can of soap downwards, only to watch in horror as only bubbles appear from it and not even a single drop of body wash.

“Uhhhhhh a lot.”

“I can’t believe you’re real.” Lio says with exasperation, smacking his hand into the water.

There’s a knock at the door that brings the boys out of their conversation. “Master Lio? Galo? Anyone in there?”

“Yes?” “Yeah?” They both say at the same time and the door opens to reveal Colum exhaling in relief. “Phew, thought you two sneaked off or something. Saving water, huh?”

“Yup!” Cheers Galo, flexing his arm and splashing water at Lio in the process. 

“My clothes are over there.” Lio points to the bundle near the bathtub, and the butler lets out an ‘oh!’ before grabbing them.

“Came here to get them, actually. Thanks, milord!” He turns to leave but retreats as he seems to remember something. “Oh, right! Miss Sera’s preparing lunch, so we’re gonna take it up in a few minutes.”

The children say their ‘thank you’s as Colum leaves. Galo sags on the back of the bathtub. “He’s gonna take it up here? I kinda wanted to see the rest of the house…”

“You will, don’t worry.” Lio responds as he scrubs at a splotch of sand on his arm with a duck-shaped sponge. How did that get there? “You should rest for now. I’ll show you around after we eat, if you want me to.”

“Yeah!!” Galo grins wide and sunny, and the white walls of the bathroom somehow seem to make it more radiant and blind Lio momentarily. And even when Galo’s smile disappears and is replaced by a look of awe, the warmth in his chest doesn’t go away. “Lio!! Your hair is even fluffier!” He exclaims as he reaches his hands over and starts to lightly touch the other boy’s hair, bouncing it up and down.

“Probably because of the heat…?” Lio says and Galo hums contentedly, continuing to happily fluff up the boy’s hair and watch it flop around as he plays with it. It doesn’t hurt and he’s not messing up Lio’s fringe (Lio _ hates _ when people touch it. It’s always a pain to make it look nice again!) so he lets the boy do as he pleases.

But not without retribution.

Lio shoots his hands up to poke at the ends of Galo’s mohawk. “How does your hair stay up like that?”

“Huh? Uh, I ‘unno.” Galo responds, understandably a little surprised at the sudden closeness. “My mom and dad also have spiky hair, so maybe I took it after ‘em?”

“That’s not an excuse!” Lio pouts, tugging at the ends of his hair. “You were in the rain and it still stays up like that…!”

“I like it! Dad says it makes me look like Sonic!”

“The Hedgehog?”

“Yeah!” Galo says before patting at Lio’s hands so that they cease their prodding. “You know, with you, I can’t tell what you know and what you don’t know.”

“And you’re a dummy, but you know a lot of stuff. I probably wouldn’t know the things I do now if it weren’t for you.”

Galo pumps his fists. “It’s equal exchange!” 

“Yup.” Lio smiles and Galo goes back to playing with the other boy’s hair. Not that he’s complaining. “We’re really different but also alike. It’s very confusing.”

“I know, right?” Galo agrees, not quite looking at him. “But I like it!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!” He laughs, “That means there’ll be more for us to find out and learn about each other!”

Lio can’t even argue with that. That _ does _ sound exciting.

“Like, for one, you’re really cute.”

Aw shoot, here they go again. Lio rolls his eyes. “You’re cute, too.”

“But you’re _ cuter _!” Whines Galo. “Cute like a… Hmm…” He puffs up his cheeks as he looks up 

“If you say ‘girl’, i'm making you drink soap.”

“You think girls are cute?” He asks, eyebrows scrunched together.

“I mean, aren’t they supposed to be?”

“Are they??”

“Sometimes. Why, you never met a girl and thought ‘wow, she’s pretty’?” Galo shakes his head. “Never?”

“Nuh-uh.” The blue-haired boy shakes his head ‘no’ even stronger. “But... “ He stops as his eyes land on the boy across him. “I always thought _ you _ were pretty, Lio!”

  
The other boy blinks, a bit taken aback. “Huh?” 

“Like, first time I saw you, I thought ‘Woaaaah, he’s a guy, but he’s so beautiful!’”

“Are you sure you’re not just saying that to make me feel better?” Lio’s shoulders sag. “It’s okay if you thought I was a girl at first. Most people do.” Wouldn’t be the first time. Or the last, if Lio’s babyface doesn’t disappear soon.

But Galo just casually shrugs his shoulders with a smirk plastered on. “Nah, I knew right away you were a guy. I mean, you were wearing shorts!”

“That’s… okay, Galo, girls can wear shorts, too.”

“I never saw a rich-looking girl my age wear pants, though.”

Lio raises his finger to counter that statement until he realizes he’s never seen any of his girl cousins or visitors wear pants. His hand awkwardly sinks into the water.

Galo tugs on Lio’s hair lightly--the longer parts near his face. “You should grow your hair out.”

The younger boy frowns. “I’ve told you before, _ no _! Even more people won’t know I’m a boy!”

“Then just prove ‘em wrong! You’d look _ great _ in a ponytail!” Says Galo, frowning back. “And rocker guys also grow out their hair!”

At that, the other child’s expression softens. “They do?”

“Yeah! You saw the magazine, right?”

Oh yeah, he does remember the motorcyclists having pretty long hair. Mostly shoulder-length, but some had it in long ponytails and braids, too. Dang, now he’s tempted.

“I’ll… think about it.” He says instead, and it’s enough to put a bright smile on Galo’s face and make him bounce in his seat. 

“It’s not a ‘noooo’!” He sing-songs with glee, pumping his fists up and down.

“Speaking of hair,” Lio says to distract himself from Galo’s sunshine smile, “Wash yours. It’s dirty.” He cups his hand around the water and pours some on Galo’s hair, causing the boy to let out an animal-like shriek.

“You too, then!” The boy counters, putting some of the bubbly water on the sides of Lio’s head. “When was the last time you washed yours!?”

“Two days ago! ...I think!”

“You think!? C’mere!” Lio doesn’t have a moment to collect himself as Galo jumps him, splashing water on the carpet, and starts rubbing the soap into his hair. “I’ll wash away your hair n' gunk with my burning soul!”

“I need my hair to live!” The boy shouts in a panic and tries pulling at the other’s arms in defiance. “At least get the shampoo first, you gorilla!”

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“Having fun?” Lio smirks down at the pile of fur and child on his bedroom floor.

“I could sleep in this!” Galo gleefully comments, rolling around the carpet in a bathrobe while giggling. The floor is spiffy clean so he doesn’t mind the boy rolling around, but… “If you do, it’ll just slip off and you’ll get a cold while you sleep, so change into what I brought you.”

“How do you know that?”

Lio looks away. “No reason.”

“You’re sayin’ that a lot today.”

“Yeah, because there’s no reason, _ Galo _.” He accentuates and Galo grins up at him. “Stop smirking.”

“Am not.”

“You are.”

“Am not!”

“Get off the floor!”

“Everybody do the dinosaur…!” The boy groans out as he pushes himself up and stands up.

“Open the door~” A male voice sing songs as the door, true to the lyrics, opens to reveal Colum and Sera carrying two trays with food and drinks.

“Get on the floor~!” Galo sings along as he’s about to sit down again before Lio leers at him and he stops, stumbling a little and giggling.

“Everybody do the dinosaur~!” The trays are set on the coffee table set at the foot of the bed. “Fried eggs, duck, and Sloppy Joe’s for the two gentlemen!”

The two boys gasp in excitement at the plate of foods provided for them, as well as two tall glasses of apple and mint juice. “Thank you!” They both say and Galo sits down on his knees before the table and starts to dig in. Lio almost joins in before he remembers something and momentarily runs into the bathroom to get Galo’s change of clothes, and to fish out the item he took from Engel’s suitcase.

He looks up at the two adults as he fishes out the small case from between the folds of the giant shirt. “Um, can you help me put this in the telly?”

“A CD?” Colum takes the object off the child’s hands, examining it before flashing a grin and a thumbs up. “Sure!”

“We’d have to hook up the cable, first…” Says Sera, walking to the television and looking at its back. “Colum, help me out here.” 

“Coming, ma’am!” 

“No, wait--Nevermind, I got it.”

“Congrats, ma’am!”

“Don’t patronize me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Anyway,” Sera says after sending an odd look behind her shoulder at Colum. “The DVD player should be… Yep, a bit dusty, but it still works.”

“Tee-Fee-Tee?” Galo asks--suddenly at Lio’s side--through a mouthful of egg before gulping it down. “What are we gonna watch?”

“You’ll see.” Lio smiles mysteriously and the other boy hums, curious. Like he’s in on some secret. He then knocks his elbow against Lio’s. “Eat! It’ll get cold.”

“Right, right. Come on the bed.” Lio pats the mattress and grabs his own food tray, laying it on the duvet and jumping up on it. Galo looks between the coffee table and Lio in slight confusion before doing as he says and joining him.

“Do try to keep damage to the sheets at a minimum, sirs?” Colum laughs nervously. “We, uh, already have a lot of laundry after the lord and lady’s argu--”

“Here, catch.” Sera throws something in the boy’s direction, and Lio fumbles in a panic for a second before Galo snatches the object out of the air. The light-haired boy breathes a sigh of relief at Galo’s grin. The ‘something’ was the TV remote. “Use that to watch whatever you want.” She turns to leave, and as she does, she whispers; “Ya weebs.”

“Aw, come on, miss Sera!” Colum follows after her to the door in a slightly forced, cheery voice. “What, is liking anime a crime?”

“Yes.” Sera replies, in a tone like it was obvious, before bowing to the room’s residents. “Enjoy your meal.” The door then closed as music began playing from the TV and Lio grabbed the remote from the other child’s hands.

“Dude,” Galo begins, breathless as he stares at the screen. “You got the _ Ghibli Collection!? _”

“Mhm. Engel bought it for my birthday last year.” Lio explains. “I’ve only watched Ponyo, but Engel said I’ll like a lot of these, too, if I liked that one.”

“And he’s right!” Grins Galo, crawling closer to Lio. “Whad’ya wanna watch?”

“Anything is good. Hmm.” Lio tilts his head to the side, side-eyeing the other boy. “How many of these did you watch, Galo?”

“Um…” The boy squints at the screen. “A few of these. “Ooh! I watched Princess Monokoke,” He points to the movie option on the screen with a girl in white fur.

“Mononoke.”

“Monononoke!”

“One too many ‘no’s.”

“I didn’t say _ ‘no’ _ to Princess Monoke!” Lio groans at the bad, horribly set up pun. “But it’s like, kinda sad. And has blood in it. I don’t really…” He trails off with a forlorn expression.

“Not now?”

“Not now.”

“Okay. Do you have any you like?”

“Spirited Away is _ great _ !” Galo bounces on the mattress, a very sudden shift from his previous expression, knocking their food a little out of place. “It’s about a girl that stumbles into this weird place in Japan, and she starts working at a place, and there’s a cool, pretty _ dragon boy _\--!”

“Okay,” Interrupts Lio with a huff and small smile, pressing some buttons on the remote. “Spirited Away, then.”

Galo kicks his feet and goes back to his food as the movie starts. Lio finally starts eating as well.

The animation really is beautiful in the movie, just like in Ponyo, Lio notes, and he likes the main protagonist, too. The portrayal of her parents as pigs made him chuckle, too. He kind of wishes he was in her place. Is that mean? Maybe a little. Oh well.

After they’re finished with their dishes, Lio slides off the bed, and hears the click of the remote as the movie pauses. “Hey, you’re missing good stuff!” His friend pouts.

“We have to change clothes.”

“Oh, right.” Galo says, and he hears shuffling on the other side of the bed, indicating Galo’s looking for his own given change of attire. “Hey, wait, isn’t this…?”

“The shirt we bought together? Yes." Lio finishes as he puts on his shirt. "I don't think any of my tops will fit you, so you can wear it for now."

Galo doesn't respond and they change in silence, climbing back on the bed and setting the food trays on the coffee table below.

"Wait, you're wearin' PJ's?"

"I'm sick of wearing shirts." Complains Lio, crawling back to lay his head against the pillows. "It's not like we'll be going outside today, anyway."

"Yeah, true." Shrugs Galo, following the boy's actions and fluffing up his own pillow before laying down. The shirt, Lio notices is still a bit too big, even on Galo, as it slides off the boy's shoulder a bit.

Lio grabs the blanket and covers the older boy with it without prompting so that only his head is visible. Galo adorably looks down at the blanket before turning his confused gaze to Lio.

"Don't get cold." He commands more than explains. He receives an even more adorable pout in return, and feels his left hand being grabbed under the duvet.

"You get in here too, then, dummy!" Galo demands and Lio rolls his eyes before doing as the boy requested and settling down with him under the covers as the movie continues.

_ "Haku, I'll be back soon." _ Chihiro says at the sleeping visage of the boy Galo's been gushing about. ("He reminds me a lot of you, Lio!" He commented with a big smirk, and Lio still can't see the resemblance.) _ "Just hold on." _

_ "What's going on?" _Says the waitress girl as she looks on in confusion, and he sort of relates with her at that moment.

_ "Something you wouldn't recognize." _ Chides the multi-armed old man, _ "It's called love." _

"But she's known him for like, a day…" Complains Lio, only to get shushed by Galo.

"Watch the movie!" He half-whispers and Lio begrudgingly does. 

That is, until his eyelids start drooping.

The movie is interesting, it really is, but the entirety of today is catching up with him. The stress, fear and relief have been piling up until now and are now taking their toll on Lio. And as he lulls his head towards Galo's, he sees that the other boy seems to be in the same boat.

Things are going on on the screen but Lio would really rather focus on Galo's unusually peaceful face as sleep slowly starts taking over the both of them. He wants to remember that face, as he doesn't know when he'll get the chance again.

"Galo," He mumbles, lightly squeezing the hand in his, and the recipient opens his eyes a little.

_ "Once you've met someone, you don't really forget them." _

"I know its late, but..." He smiles. "...大好きだよ."

_ "It just takes a while for your memories to return." _

Galo blinks and smiles back. Content, the light-haired boy closes his eyes.

And quietly, as he's drifting off, he thinks he hears Galo whisper back something akin to, "俺も."

He should ask Galo what their special greeting actually means, sometime, he thinks.

He’ll remember to ask when he wakes up.

Totally.

Yeah.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

_ It’s cold. _

_ It’s so cold. _

_ Lio is lying face up… somewhere. In some void. _

_ He can’t tell if his eyes are open or not but he tries frantically moving his head, from left to right, up and down, trying to shake his body from paralysis. To no avail. He then has a thought; Is his body even there? _

_ He can’t feel it. His limbs or his chest. Even the warmth around his cheeks that he usually feels from his hair shielding his face isn’t there to protect him. _

_ Is anyone even there? _

_ Is Lio? _

_ “Lio!” _

_ Even though he asked that, he didn’t expect anyone to reply. _

_ But hearing the voice, he frantically tries moving again. Until the familiar warmth in his chest arrives, starts spreading until it's overtaking him, until it’s hard to breathe _

“GEH--” Lio is rudely woken from his dream as the weight on his chest hits a spot in his lung and stops him from breathing momentarily and makes his eyes go wide.

“Finally! Geez, you’re a heavy sleeper!” Galo pouts as his hands hoist him up by pressing on Lio’s small chest. The equally small boy lets out another choked noise and frantically slaps at the other child’s hands until they finally retract and he can take a big gulp of air.

“That do--” He coughs as he sits up from the bed. “--Doesn’t mean you can _ choke me in my sleep! _”

“Well, you weren’t waking up when I shouted!” Galo backs off and crosses his arms. “What did ya want me to do, kiss you awake?”

“I’d prefer that to _ this _!”

The boy’s eyes go wide as any sign of anger disappears from his face. “R-Really?”

Lio doesn’t even care about his reaction as he messages his chest and gulps. “Anything is better than almost dying, idiot.”

“T-Then lemme try again!” Galo suddenly pushes at Lio’s shoulders, trying to get his head back on the pillow. “Go back to sleep!”

Lio resists and pushes himself up on his elbows. “No! I’m wide awake now--Put that pillow down, you’re _seriously _ going to kill me!”

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

“Meanie…” Galo sniffled, massaging at his head as they walked down the hall.

“That’s what you get for trying to suffocate me. A bonk to the head.”

“Suffawha?”

“Su-ffo-cate. It means ‘choke’.”

“Then just say ‘choke’!”

“No.”

Galo whines.

The boys, due to full stomachs and hectic mornings, ended up falling asleep halfway through the movie, to their disappointment. Lio proposed they continue it later, after he’s shown Galo around, like he promised, and got a whiny ‘okaaaay’ in return, as well as another bonk to the head.

Galo grabs Lio by the arm as they’re about to head downstairs. “Wait, ain’tcha gonna show me what’s on this floor?”

“There’s just guest rooms here, and most of them belong to the servants. It’d be rude to barge in, even if they’re not here.” The shorter explains and turns to resume trotting down.

“Why’d ya leave the room to get the shirt, then?”

Lio freezes. Crap, guess he never really opened his closet when Galo was here, did he? That’s surprisingly perceptive of him. “Um… Engel’s room. He’s keeping all the stuff I bought in his suitcase.”

“Huh? Why? Would your like, servants throw away your stuff if they found it?”

“Probably. Or show them to my parents, and then throw them out.”

“Even Sera?”

Before last night, Lio would instantly reply with a ‘yes’ and a plea to Galo to be careful about what he says around her. But now, even if he doesn’t fully trust her… “Probably not.”

“‘Probably’?”

“She works for my mum. She’s very good at getting others to talk.”

They continue their way down the stairs in momentary silence before Galo speaks again.

“I don’t think I like your parents.”

“It’s okay. I don’t know if I do, either.”

And with that, Lio grabbed Galo’s hand as he gave him a tour of the house (they avoided entering the salon, as they both felt a bit of unease when they saw the fireplace). Galo seemed especially amazed at the bathrooms, of all things, and how many washing machines they have.

“You come here like, once a year, right? Why do ya need all this stuff for one trip?”

“My parents are rich and like to show off. Also, rich people are dumb."

“You're not dumb, though! You're super smart!'

"And I hope I stay that way." Lio sighs. Growing up becomes more dreadful everyday. “The air is fresh here. That’s nice, I guess.”

Galo lets out a sound that seems like an odd combination between a whine and a laugh as he knocks shoulders with Lio. “Aww, c’mon, man! I’m here too, right?”

“No, you’re in the city.” Lio points out, closing his eyes. “If I had to choose, I’d rather live closer to you in the city than here.”

“Y-Yeah?” Galo blinks as he stutters and scratches at his head. “But there ain’t nothin’ but apartment blocks in Promepolis… No mansions like you’re used to, that’s for sure.”

“So? I don’t need that much space, anyway.” He smiles cheekily. “And I’ve never been to an apartment. It’ll be a nice experience.”

The blue-haired boy then gets this sort of weird smile, like he’s trying to contain himself from letting his grin split across his face as he looks away. “If you say so…” He mumbles, and Lio notices his ears are red. The mansion is pretty warm, he shouldn’t be cold... So at that, Lio decides to head to the kitchen as their final destination, from which the children sense a downright heavenly smell.

“Hi, milords!” Colum smiles from his seat by the table, phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Sera, clad in uncharacteristically cute oven mitts, had just pulled out a tray from the oven and put it on top. She responds to the boy’s arrival with a tilt of her head and not much else. “Having fun so far?”

“Yeah!” Galo perks up, letting go of Lio’s hand, for some reason, and the other boy looks at him with a cocked eyebrow. “This house is so big!”

“Isn’t it?” Colum grins as the boys walk over to take a seat. He then leans in, putting up a hand to his face to shield his voice from noone in particular. “Wanna hear a fun fact I learned from my higher-ups?” Galo nods his head fervently. “Apparently, the mistress _ insisted _ for the house to have a second floor, and when the plan went through and she was asked what should be put there, she flat out ignored the real estate agent and said ‘Whatever.’ The only reason us servants have a place to sleep is because of our ladies’ belief in quantity over quality!”

The two boys tilt their heads to the side. “What over what?” Galo asks.

“Oh, right, you’re kids--Uhhhh, quantity is like… Uhh.” Colum’s face sours as he starts rapidly snapping his fingers. “Miss Sera?” 

The maid suddenly slams a huge silver plate full of freshly baked cookies down on the table, startling everyone else in the room and making them almost just out of their seats (Colum almost fell back in his). “Quantity is an amount of something. For example, the quantity of the cookies I burned today is zero, compared to Colum’s sixteen. And quality is how good something is. Like the quality of these cookies, which are much better than the _stale excuses_ he made earlier.” Her voice turns more into a growl as she goes on and glares at the butler, who is slowly sliding down his seat so he can hide under the table.

“Oh, I get it!” Galo doesn’t seem to notice the tension in the room and points at the plate. “Can we eat those?”

Sera ceases directing her death glare at the poor man and flips her ponytail away from her shoulder. “They’re for you two, genius. I’d be offended if you didn’t.”

“Okay! Thank you for the meal!” And with that, Galo claps his hands and takes two cookies at once. Lio takes one as well, and Colum reaches his hand out to the plate before it gets slapped away by Sera.

“Oh, I like your hair, by the way! Galo, was it?” The brown-haired man calls out as he massages his hand. To distract himself from the pain, Lio guesses, as he munches on the chocolate-chip cookie. “You style it?”

“No, it’s just like that.” The boy replies, surprisingly audible despite the mouthful of dough in his mouth.

“Really? I’m jealous! I gotta spend fifteen minutes in the bathroom slicking it back just to prevent it from getting all curly…” He puts his cheek in his palm and curls a strand of hair around his finger to demonstrate its bounciness. “But yours is cool! It makes you look like a parrot!”

“Huh? No way! If anything, I look like a hedgehog! ‘Cuz Sonic!”

“Nah, Sonic’s hair is all droopy.” 

“You’re more like a langur, with how all over your hair is," Sera says. "as well as your personality.” 

“Jaguar’s heads are pretty flat, though, aren’t they?”

“I said ‘Langur’, not ‘jaguar’, you idiot. The monkey.”

“Ooh, the small ones!”

As the two adults continue, Lio tuns his head to look at Galo, who is turning his head back and forth between the servants, depending on who’s talking at the moment. His nose is twitching a little as he munches on the cookies and he looks a little resigned, like he’s being left out of the conversation despite it being about him. Lio knows this isn’t a serious subject like he’s used to, but he can still relate to how the other child is feeling.

“You’re a bunny.” He says.

_ That _ brings Galo out of his thoughts. He gulps down the contents in his mouth as he looks at Lio. “Huh?”

“You’re like a bunny.” He repeats. “You don’t like being left alone or else you die. Or do stupid stuff.”

“Hey, I ain’t _ that _incompent!”

“Incompetent.” Sera corrects him.

“Yeah, that! I ain’t that incompantent!”

“I’m not saying you are. I’m just saying you and rabbits are pretty similar. Plus,” Lio continues with a small smirk as he holds a cookie in front of Galo’s face and the latter chomps down on it, “You’re cute like a rabbit, too.”

“Mmpf!” The blue-haired child whines as he takes the half-eaten treat out of his mouth. “If I’m a rabbit ‘cuz I’m cute, then you’re a rabbit, too! You’re fluffy!”

“Your hair looks like rabbit ears, from the right angle.” Lio accentuates as he swings his head from right to left, looking up at Galo’s mohawk.

“No they don’t!”

“They do.”

“They don’t!”

“They do!”

“They don’t!”

And just across the table from them, as the two children bicker, Sera and Colum are watching the playful argument go down with small, knowing smiles on their faces. Colum tries to sneak his hand to the platter for a cookie before it gets slapped by Sera again. He doesn’t even react that time.

“Pie should be ready to eat in an hour or so.” Sera says, glancing at the kitchen clock, and the boys look at it as well.

Galo lets out a strained hum and a cough. “It’s four PM already!?” He exclaims, shocked. “How long did we sleep!?”

“I mean, that movie was about two hours long, so…”

“_Aaaagh_,” Galo starts messing up his mohawk in frustration before he turns to the other boy. “Lio! Let’s do somethin’!” He grabs his hand, hopping off the chair and trying to get the other to do the same. “Let’s go play outside in the rain or somethin’!”

“No, no you won’t.” Before either can blink, Sera’s standing between them, forcing Galo’s hand to let go of Lio’s arm. “Because if you do that, he will die.”

“Or get a crippling case of nausea.” Colum adds casually.

“O-oh…” Galo’s expression falls as he looks at Lio, a bit guilty. “Do ya get sick that easily?”

“Mm. I mean…” Lio shuffles in his seat, avoiding Galo’s gaze and instead opting to stare down the silver plate. “I don’t go outside a lot.”

”Well,” Galo places his hands on Lio’s chair’s backrest as he lulls his head to try and look the younger boy in the eye. “Do you not go outside cuz’ you get sick a lot or do you get sick a lot ‘cause you dont go outside?”

“He was just born that way, yo.” Colum chimes in. “Not everyone’s as healthy as they should be.”

“Lio?” But Galo doesn’t even acknowledge the man as he leans closer to the boy, waiting for his response. Lio gulps, and quickly gets off the chair, starting to trot in the direction of the door, Galo trailing after him.

“...I don’t know.” He whispers after he opened the door. “And I don’t think my parents care to find out why at this point.”

Galo bows his head to the two servants and closes the door before he catches up to walk with Lio side by side. He appreciates it, even as he keeps walking slowly, aimlessly, that Galo waits for him to speak when he wants to.

“Doctors used to visit me a lot. Like, a lot. Even when I was really small.”

As long as Lio can remember, a doctor would come to visit him twice or thrice every week to check on him, his body, his temperature, his eating pace, things like that. It came to the point that one day, when Lio was watching cartoons and first heard about cancer, he ran crying into Engel’s arms asking him if he had it and he was going to die and that’s why people in lab coats were coming all the time.

Gathering up the courage during the next visit, he asked that week’s doctor about it and was relieved--but still unconvinced at the time-- to hear that his condition isn’t that severe, only to be followed by his father laughing it off with; “_ You’re just weak like that. Don’t worry about it _.”

So he tried. To ‘not worry about it’, as his father so eloquently told him.

He tried so hard that next week, when Lio started coughing loudly during one of his mother’s parties because it was too cold outside and caused people in his vicinity to look at him weird, he broke into a hysteria in front of everyone present and had to be carried and locked away in his room.

(He remembers ‘hysteria’ because his mother has made it a habit to call his outbursts that whenever he has one now. It’s also oddly pleasant to say. Maybe it’s the way the ‘h’ is pronounced?)

“Even though they spent a lot of money on them, I don’t think mum and dad ever really listened to them.”

He never quite got told what was up with that, and if his breakdown was also some sort of symptom he was never supposed to find out about, but it seemed to be a kind of breaking point. On his next visit, as Lio laid motionless, expressionless in his bed, the doctor declared with a stern voice to his parents; “Exposing him to other sick people might cause his condition to become irreversible. I suggest taking precautions with your son.”

By ‘precautions’, Engel once told him, the doctor probably meant making Lio clean himself more often, get meals more suited for his stomach, keep medicine on hand whenever he goes out.

His parents’ took the ‘precautions’ as locking him away from the world.

“I guess that’s why I’m still so weak, and why the doctors stopped coming everyday.” He kicks at the carpet. “Mum and dad didn’t really try to heal me, and were sick of having so many visits from the same people over and over again. So they just stuck me in the mansion and... that was that.”

It was like quarantine.

It was like instead of him being protected from others, others were being protected from him. Like some freak. Like some alien.

Like something dangerous.

Yet whenever they go out on a trip and Lio gets sick, his parents _ still _ act like its a surprise, like it's _ his _ fault for being weak.

And then they’re even more surprised when all he does is cry for the rest of the vacation.

“After I cried on mum’s party, they stopped calling doctors for me all the time.” Lio’s heart feels incredibly, painfully heavy at the memories, but the weight of Galo’s fingers intertwining with his makes it feel like the boy is helping by holding it up. “They only come a few times a year to give me shots now. At least I’m not afraid of needles.” He forces a small smile. “I hear it’s pretty often for people to be afraid of them.”

He feels his hand being squeezed even tighter as Galo stops at the stairway. Lio turns to see the boy hanging his head low, his hair obscuring his face. “There are other ways for you to get better, right?” He looks up at the boy who’s already taken one step up the stairs with an almost desperate look. “Like, having you take pills and go out everyday for an hour or something?”

“...Probably.” He looks at their joined hands. “But my parents ignored them, if there were. And now they’re ignoring me.” His voice cracks at the end.

Lio’s pleasantly surprised at himself when he stares Galo right into his worried eyes, not breaking eye contact even as tears start flowing.

“They’ve given up on me, haven’t they?” It’s not a question as much as it is a realization and suddenly, his tears are almost as bad as the rain outside.

And before he can raise an arm to hide his face away, to tell Galo to not worry about it, that he doesn’t want to put more on the boy’s plate, Galo starts wiping at the boy’s eyes and cheeks with an open palm, his expression determined and serious.

“So what?” Lio only gives him a sniff and confused look, so he continues. “Some people don’t like you, so what?”

“They’re my mum and dad.”

“So _ what _?” The boy accentuates. “Naruto didn’t have a mom or dad and still became Hokage! You don’t gotta depend on them to get better or stronger!”

“Naruto’s parents didn’t have a choice to take care of him.”

“Your parents _ have _ a choice, and even then they don’t take it. That’s a lot worse, if ya ask me.”

Lio hiccups. “I wish I was stronger.”

“Then get stronger!” The older boy slaps both his hands on the crying child’s cheeks, forcing their faces close. “I know that ‘cuz ya never got the chance, ya think ya can’t anymore, I get it.” He grins. “But you’re nine! It’s just the right time!”

“F-For what?” Lio mumbles, startled, through his squished cheeks.

“To start gettin’ stronger! Like, I know you can’t get better all at once, but… Oh!” Galo lets go of Lio’s face, thankfully, to grab at his shoulders instead. “You should try kendo! You have nice form and and you’re good at balance at stuff. Kendo needs that! Building up muscle and all that jazz comes later!”

“What’s kendo…!?”

“Kendo is sword-fighting! It’s basically what samurai do!”

“Samurai…” Lio remembers Galo’s rant from back when they first met (was that really only a few days ago? Feels more like a month...), about the samurai code of honor, how cool they were with their sword-fighting techniques and need to prepare the weak and those in need. He thinks he remembers something about wandering samurai, as well, and how they traveled where the wind took them, helping those in need along the way.

Lio would like to be like that, one day.

Can he?

“I’ll... “ Lio begins and blink away the rest of his tears, putting his hands on top of Galo’s. _ ‘He’s really warm.’ _“I’ll try. I’ll ask Engel about it.”

“Good!” Galo grins and it’s like the metal box trapping Lio’s heart has opened and it’s once again able to see the sun, to revel in it.

Yeah,--Lio thinks, still holding Galo’s hands to his cheeks--the sun is really, really warm.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

While walking back to Lio’s room, the younger noticed the older was getting a little teary-eyed and ended up stabbing him in the eye as he was trying to wipe his tears away. The boy laughed it off even as he was still massaging at the hurt spot. Changing the subject, the two boys discussed other ways for Lio to try and get stronger. Galo suggested running a kilometer per day, but Lio narrowed it down to taking simple walks around his home area until he acquires enough stamina for regular jogging. Galo proposed heavy lifting, Lio changed the idea to helping Engel and some servants carry rather light objects to other places. Rinse and repeat. Galo wasn’t even mad, he seemed to actually be impressed at Lio’s big brain and the fact that he was starting to base his future routine off of Galo’s suggestions.

Entering Lio’s room, Lio grabs the remote, fiddling with it and having the TV play Spirited Away again at the part he last remembers before drifting off while Galo kneels by his backpack and checks something on his phone.

“Do you remember when we left off?” Lio asks without looking away from the screen. To his confusion, the boy doesn’t respond, so he turns his head to look at him. “Galo?”

“Hm?” The boy hums, distracted before blinking and shooting his head up towards Lio with a crooked smile. “Uh, what?”

Lio cocks an eyebrow. That’s weird. “Is... something wrong?”

The boy laughs nervously and scratches at his head, waving his other hand with the phone dismissively. “Nah, nah, I just--uh, saw somethin’ funny! Haha!”

“You didn’t look like it.”

The boy seems to cringe at being found out and his shoulders sag as his laugh dies out. He lifts his phone once more. “Four missed calls and eight texts from my mom. There’s some from dad, too.”

“Did you not tell them you were coming?”

“I did! I told ‘em I was going to a friend’s place after training, but… Um.” He trails off and looks away, massaging at his bandaged arm. Lio sensed it was something serious and patted the space on the bed next to him--an invitation for the other child to talk about it, and also so that he wouldn’t have to sit cross-legged on the floor. It took the taller boy a few seconds, but he eventually stood up and flopped back on the bed beside Lio. The younger huffed and laid back with him. 

“Mom came to practice.” Galo starts. “Even though she wasn’t allowed to and started fighting with the sub. And then they started shouting and we all couldn’t leave ‘cuz the changing rooms were _ in _ the gym so you couldn’t sneak past. So we were stuck there for even _ longer _ even after practice was over.”

Galo’s looking up at the ceiling, so Lio hums affirmatively instead of nodding in order to let the boy know he’s listening. “We were all packed n’ ready to go, right? And um, the course is actually like, _ full _ of my classmates ‘cuz the school is associated with the course, I guess?”

“Right.”

“Yeah. And, um… I told ya I don’t got a lot of friends right?”

“Mhm.” He still doesn’t get why anyone wouldn’t want to be friends with this puppy-bunny (bunpy?) hybrid boy, but he lets the other go on.

Galo’s body shuffles on the bed before he continues, quieter this time. “A lotta kids in my class... don’t like me.”

And it’s a good thing that Galo keeps talking, because Lio was about to announce his plan to expel those kids from going to school ever again. “I dunno why, they just don’t. I try to play with others n’ talk with them, but then they just cry or push me n’ call me weird. One time I saved a girl from gettin’ beaten up by bullies in our class and we became friends! We got along real well, too!” His voice brightens as well as his face, before it suddenly stiffens back into a frown. “But then she started to get made fun of ‘cuz she was hangin’ out with me. Stuff like, ‘cuz I’m a weirdo, then she must be a weirdo, too. Then some time later, one of her friends came up to me, said the girl didn’t wanna be my friend anymore, n’ that was that. I tried to get her to tell my why, too! But she never answered. Just slapped me n’ ran away.”

“What’s her name.”

“Lio, no.”

“Where does she live. My parents are mean and have contacts.”

Galo turns his head to direct his frown at Lio. “She moved to another city last year! Even if I were to tell ya, I wouldn’t know.”

“Shame.”

Galo groans as he crosses his arms behind his head so that his hands can act as a pillow. “I don’t regret it, though. I mean, nobody was helping her. And when somebody needs saving, you save them.”

“But she betrayed you.”

Galo seems a bit hurt at that, catching Lio’s gaze for just a moment before breaking eye contact almost immediately. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Yes it is.” Lio presses, rolling on his side to face the boy fully. “And if I understand right, your team is full of people who bully you?”

“Not really bully.” He shrugs. “They just ignore me n’ push me off the monkey bars when I try to climb up.”

“Galo, that’s bullying.”

“Is it? Isn’t that kinda invasive to climb up there when they got dibs?”

“It’s a monkey bar, Galo. It’s for the _ public _.” Lio rolls his eyes before he squints and pushes his upper half up a little off the bed. “Wait, is that why you have a medkit?”

Galo’s eyes widen. Bingo. Now Lio’s rage is higher than it was before, and it was already pretty up there. “Uh--” Galo sits up abruptly, waving his arms around in defense. “That ain’t from bullying! I _ protect _ people who get picked on and distract the bullies so the kid can escape!”

“By having them beat _ you _ up instead??”

“I fight back!” He defends. “T-the numbers are unfair sometimes, but I do give ‘em a good fight, too!”

“You’re still getting hurt, you idiot!

Galo bites his lip, and for a second, Lio thinks he messed up and made him cry, but he just lays back down and closes his eyes for a few seconds. Then, he stares up, determined, at the ceiling. “As long as I’m helping someone, I don’t care if I get a few scrapes. I just wanna save people who need savin’--someone has to.”

Galo goes quiet, and Lio is mad that he can’t even be mad. That just sounded too cool.

He’s still a sacrificial idiot, but that sounded too cool.

The pout on his face must’ve thrown Galo off, because he scratched at his cheek with a sloppy smile up at the boy. “Does… that make me weird?”

Lio then _ purposefully _ shoots him a _ look _ before turning away with a huff. “You _ are _ weird.” He says, and Galo looks for a second hurt before he continues, fiddling with the longer parts of his hair. “But that’s what makes you so cool. It’s what I like about you.”

He hears Galo sit up, and Lio quickly continues, sliding his own hand under his hair in a moment of embarrassment. “...And I guess I’m not really normal, either.”

He lets out a yelp as he feels a weight barrel into his side, but relaxes when he realizes it’s Galo hugging and wrapping his arms around him. “We’re both weird, then!” He announces like he’s just won the lottery. “Two halves of a whole, right?”

Lio rolls his eyes and smiles, putting a hand to one of Galo’s arms. “That’s right.”And Galo looks so proud at getting that saying right that when it falls, Lio almost forgets what they were talking about.

“Mom was mad at the coach ‘cuz apparently he was overworking us or something.” The older boy continued his story, laying his chin on Lio’s small shoulder. “She was worried ‘cuz I always text her when practice is done. So right as we were done with training, she came and started shoutin’ at him. It was… pretty scary.”

“Angry mums _ are _ scary.”

Galo chuckles. “Yeah. But it’s even scarier when it’s two adults.”

Lio thinks back to his mother’s and father’s fight yesterday, how much of a _ headache it gave him _\--“Yeah.”

“So… While we were waiting for the argument to end, the guys started saying mean stuff about ‘em. Like how they’re old n’ keepin’ us from going home n’... curse words, n’ stuff.”

Lio nodded and Galo’s arms around him tightened. “And one of ‘em said somethin’ like… that my mom is really goin’ at it and how she won’t calm down, how girls are all like that, and how--” His breath hitches. “--he asked when she’s gonna turn Burnish so that they know when they can start avoiding me, too.”

“Weren’t they already avoiding you?”

“Yeah. Dunno what was up with that.”

“Wankers.”

“Mm.” Galo hums into his shoulder, before releasing his hold on him. “That was the first time.” He says. “That I ever threw the first punch.”

“You got into a fight?”

“Yeah. I hit ‘im and then he went down to the ground, and then the rest of his friends joined in. That was probably the worst fight we had, too.” He shuffled in his seat. “And I guess the coach and mom heard it, came to see what was goin’ on. They opened the door to the locker room right as I was punchin’ one of the guys in the face. My mom looked so surprised and the coach went right to the guy ‘cuz his nose was bleeding. I panicked, grabbed my bag, ran out past my mom, got on my bike and started ridin’ to your place. But everything hurt n’ I couldn’t hold my umbrella properly, so I fell. I dragged my bike to the bus stop, tried to patch myself up, hid there for a while, n’ then…” His expression, darkened as he went on, suddenly softens, and Lio can see a small shine in the boy’s eye as he smiles. “You came for me.”

“Obviously.”

Galo giggles at Lio’s attempt to say _ ‘If you’re ever in any trouble I’ll come running’ _ in his own, emotionally stunted way. He seems to understand the sentiment, though. “Mom’s worried. I don’t think she’s mad at me, but…” His voice cracks, and Lio quickly puts his hand on top of his, which is fisting itself in the sheets. ”What if she is? I mean, I beat up multiple kids. They’re definitely gonna expel me from the course. I won’t be able to train with her anymore.”

Lio thinks about it for a second. If he were Galo’s mum, how would he feel about his son, someone he loves dearly, getting into a fight because he heard some dumb kids talk bad about him and he wanted to protect his honor?

Lio frowns. Huh. The answer comes surprisingly easy.

“I mean… I don’t think your mum would want to be any longer in that course, either, if she found out that the coaches are working you all to the bone.” He provides. “And you weren’t able to see her much because of her injury anyway, right? So everything will get better, if anything.”

“But what if she’s mad at me?”

“Then talk to her. I mean,_ I’m _ mad at you for doing something stupid and getting yourself hurt. So your mum should be, too. But only because she’s worried about you.” He puts another one of his hands on Galo’s, and the boy looks down at them, as if he just noticed their presence. “You’ll be fine. Just talk to her. And if anything happens, I’ll vouch for you.”

Galo slowly looks up at Lio’s small, encouraging smile, holding the other child’s gaze for a moment before sniffling and wiping face with his forearm. “Yeah,” He responds, putting on a huge grin. “I like talkin’! I do the talkin’ when my dad doesn’t wanna. And I like talkin’ with you! But I feel like ya have a lot to say, just not really anyone to talk to, so I like listening to you too?”

“You’re getting off-topic.”

“Oh, right. Yeah.” He chuckles and stares directly at Lio again, like he wants to say or do something, but he’s not completely sure of himself, so after a moment he tugs his trapped hand away from Lio’s. “I’ll… text my mom. Tell her I’m okay.”

“Mhm. Do that.”

Galo picks up his phone and Lio slides away to give him his privacy. In the meantime, he grabs the remote once more and fiddles with it to get the time right for the movie. As they’re each doing their own thing, a knock on the door interrupts them.

“Desseeeeert.” Sera announces, carrying a tray with two plates of delicious-looking pastries, topped with whipped cream. “Butterscotch pie, two slices each.”

The children immediately stopped their activities as they jumped to greet the maid and accept the pie slices. 

“Hey, where’d you get that shirt, by the way?” Sera asks just as Galo’s about to take a giant bite (about half of the slice) and thank god he didn’t, because otherwise he might’ve choked with how he froze, smile still present but awkward.

“Oh, uh,” He begins, eyes darting between Lio and the maid. “I had a spare in my bag! I came back from training n’ this is my sports shirt. Thank god, right!?” He laughs obnoxiously, and Lio wonders if the maid is really buying this.

“Looks real big on you, though.”

“I like to… challenge myself??”

The woman narrows his eyes as the boy presses his lips uncomfortably right together.

“Okay, then.” She sighs. Yeah, she definitely didn’t buy it. “Just don’t stain it. ‘s a good fu-freakin’ shirt.”

“Nice save.” Galo says.

Sera throws him a death glare right as she’s walking out the door. “Want me to repeat the question?”

“No, ma’am.”

“That’s what I thought. Enjoy your meal.” And with that, she left. Galo heaved a sigh of relief as the boys went back to the bed. The older picked up his phone again.

“Mom replied.” He said, a little surprised, and started reading the message. “‘It’s okay, as long as you’re safe--We’ll talk later, okay. I love you.’” He types out a very quick reply before throwing his phone to the pillow, and smashing his face into the sheets. He heaved a sigh of relief and Lio patted him on the back. “Mom’s so cool.” He mumbles into the sheets. “I wanna be like her someday.”

“You can be. From what you’ve told me, you already kind of are.”

“I’ve still got a looooooooong way to go to be as awesome as her.” Galo whines as he pushes himself up and starts picking at his food. “She always finds a good solution everytime I screw up, and she’s really patient, too. And she looks good no matter what she wears! I wanna be like that.”

Lio picks up his own plate, cutting off a small piece unlike Galo. “You’re already like her in every regard except that last one.”

“Really? Hey--hold on!! What’s up with how I dress!?”

“Nothing. It’s just not fashionable.”

“Printed tees are all the rage nowadays!”

“I can tell. It’s all you wear.”

“Fine then!” Galo huffs as he crosses his arms. “I’m just gonna start goin’ shirtless!”

“Go ahead.”

“I will!”

Lio rolls his eyes and takes a bite of his pie. “It’s nice.” He says, and Galo hums in question, having taking a large piece of butterscotch into his mouth. “That you can look up to your mum like that.”

The other boy gulps before responding. “What, is there nothin’ good ‘bout your mom?”

“She’s good at making money, I guess.”

“Hey, there’s one thing you can take away from her!”

“I suppose.” Money _ is _ good to have, especially if it means he’ll get to spoil Galo with gifts in the future and face no consequence or setback. “But… I’m scared.”

“Of what? Her?”

“No… Well, yes, but--” He smacks his lips. “I’m scared I’ll end up like her.”

Just even the_ thought _ of it caused his gut to wrench the other day, so he shouldn’t be bringing this up, but since they’re on the subject...

Galo lets out a quiet ‘ooooh…’ in understanding as he kicks his legs. “I guess…” He pouts his lips, glances up at the ceiling before shrugging. “Do the _ opposite _ of what she does?”

Lio’s fork clatters against the plate as his eyes widen. “...Huh. That’s surprisingly easy to follow.”

“I know, right? Try being simple like me for a change!”

“Simple-minded, more like.” Lio laughs and receives a playful punch to his shoulder. “I’m getting sort of used to her getting mad, though. It’s weird.”

“I guess I can sorta relate, except with the class bullies, instead.”

“You should stand up for yourself more.”

“Like you?”

“Hm?” He blinks, trying to realize what the heck Galo means before it hits him. “Oh, back there, with mum?” He asks, voice shaking a little.

“Yeah!” Galo grins, waving his fist around. “You were cool, talkin’ to her like that! You weren’t insultin’ her, just spittin’ straight facts! It was really cool!”

Lio blinks. Was he, really? He barely remembers now. He just knows he wanted to protect Galo from getting more hurt and scared than he already was, to protect him from any negative parts of Lio’s life. 

He looks down at his hands, small and soft, armed with only a tiny fork suited for cakes. “That was the first time I ever spoke to her like that.”

“Really? Ya could’ve fooled me.”

“I mean… You said I should practice speaking up to people who are mean to me, right? I guess I was just following your advice.”

Lio pushes back a strand of hair, a bit awkward, a bit flustered, maybe?--Before he feels soft arms wrap themselves around his neck, and a head snuggle into his.

“I’m proud of ya.” Galo says, and Lio doesn’t have to look at him to tell that he’s wearing that soft, radiant smile on his face again, as he pats Lio’s hair with one hand.

Definitely flustered.

“Thank you.” He croaks out, patting one of Galo’s arms to try and distract himself from the heat in his face, and the quickened pace of his heart. Why is it suddenly so warm in here?

Eventually they seperated and resumed watching the movie, with Galo slapping at Lio’s arm when they got to the part with the plot twist. And it actually made Lio a little emotional.

“He’s a dragon…?”

“Yeah!”

“She’s got a dragon boyfriend… That’s pretty cool.” Lio marvels before taking a sip of his apple juice.

“I KNOW right!?” Galo laughs before sighing forlornly. “Goddd, I wish I were Chihiro.”

“So you could have a dragon boyfriend?”

“Yeah…! Think of all the cool cuddling sessions!”

That _ does _ sound pretty cool. It’d be even better if the dragon could breathe fire so they could make bonfires together and heighten the warm atmosphere.

Fire.

“You know, speaking of dragons…” Lio puts his glass on the bedside table. “I had a dream. I think I saw a Burnish there.”

“Really?” Galo looks at Lio for a moment before he plasters his eyes to the screen again. “What’d they do?”

“This estate was burning, including the trees around it, and they were standing at the entrance to the lawn. I tried talking to them, but they just said some alien gibberish. And then I woke up.”

“Huh.” Hums Galo, sticking his bottom lip out. “Maybe they were ‘tryna tell you somethin’?”

“I don’t think so. They seemed just as surprised to see me as I was.”

“They were friendly?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s cool! Maybe they’ll show up in your dreams again and they’ll tell you somethin’.”

“I can’t understand them though…”

“Then talk it out until ya do!”

They stop there, opting to watch the rest of the movie with a few comments thrown in.

And then it ended.

“Wow…”

Galo falls back on the bed as Lio continues watching the credits, knees to his chest. “Ahhh, re-watchin’ something never felt so good!” He then immediately pushes himself up with his arms, and Lio turns to look at him. “So what did ya think!?”

“It was really good…” He smiles. “I liked it a lot. The people who made these are really good, too.”

“Cool!” He grins before laying back down on the bed, frowning up at the blank, white ceiling.” Hmm, what should we do now?”

“I don’t know. Do we _ have _ to do anything?”

This causes the older boy to start flailing all his limbs and making them thump against the soft sheets in a mini-tantrum. “But you’re _ leavin’ soooon _ ! We gotta do _ somethin’ _so you got a lotta good memories to bring back home!”

_ ‘The week’s not even over and it’s already my fondest memory, you dork.’ _ “Do you have any ideas?”

Galo closes his eyes and hums loudly for a solid twenty seconds, during which Lio gets off the bed so he can put the Ghibli Collection disc back in it’s case, before the older boy comes up with something. “You said Engel got you this CD for your birthday, right? When was it?”

“Last week.” Lio casually says as he switches off the TV. “August third.”

_ That _ gets Galo to jump up--literally, _ off _ the bed and launches into a standing position. “ _ What _ !?” He shouts. “You’re tellin’ me I _ just _ missed it!?”

“You... didn’t miss anything. We didn’t even know each other yet.”

“That’s not the point!!” At the boy’s complete neutrality on the matter, Galo starts scratching haphazardly at his mohawk. “_ Aaaagh _, I gotta think of somethin’...! A super-good, super-late birthday present for Lio…!”

“Present?” Lio blinks, hands coming up in protest as he steps closer in the bed’s direction. “Y-You don’t have to get me anyth--”

“_ Yeah _, I do!” Galo insists as he gets on his knees so he can bring his face in-level with Lio’s. “It’ll be a super good way to make you have fun on your almost-last day! And I didn’t have any ideas for what we should play tomorrow, anyway!” He grins, and Lio doesn’t know whether he should laugh, be charmed, or shocked at the boy’s stupidity, so he’s just left dumbfounded as Galo flops on his back again and lets his head hang off the edge. “There’s so many places we can go to…! I should ask my parents for allowance early so I can take ya somewhere cool!”

Lio steps closer so that he can hover over the blue-haired child’s face and get him to listen. “Galo, I have enough money for the both of u--”

He’s interrupted by a finger roughly pressing itself against his lips as the older boy lets out a loud 'Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh', to which Lio pouts. “You’re not making use of your resources.”

“No,” He disagrees, retrieving his hand as he sits up on his knees. “I just wanna splurge my money on a friend for the first time! Or, well, _ second _ , I guess, since I bought ya that magazine, but stil!” He insists as he leans over the bed and gets all up in Lio’s face, causing the smaller to put his hands on Galo’s shoulders so that he can try and steady him if he loses his balance. “Just let me spoil you, _ pleaaaaaaaase _?” Galo’s puppy eyes are back, and he’s even doing the head tilt thing, causing Lio’s arms start to shake from the direct hit to his small, vulnerable heart while his face reddens.

He already knows he’s fighting a losing battle from the moment Galo makes that face at him, but he will not go out without leaving his own mark on the battlefield.

“When’s your birthday?” He asks.

“May twenty-four.”

Lio smirks. “Then next year, I’ll give you a late birthday present, as well.”

“Deal!” That seems to satisfy him, and he crawls back on the bed, giggling up a storm while still staring at Lio.

“What?”

“It’s nothing~!” He changes to a cross-legged position. “Ya look good when ya smile like that!”

Lio blinks, and turns head in the mirror, trying to mimic the grin he had before, putting his pointer fingers to the corners of his mouth. “Like this?” He asks, and he’s personally not very impressed at the downright impish look he has right now, so unlike his usual lack of emotion. “Doesn’t it look kind of evil…?”

“You? Evil? Never!” Galo insists, talking to Lio’s reflection. “If ya did turn evil, I’d punch it out of ya until ya turn back to normal again.”

“Really?” Lio blinks, and witnesses his expression’s own transformation into a soft smile. Oh geez, is _ that _ what he looks like when he’s around Galo? Now he’s kind of embarrassed. “Thanks.”

“What are friends for!”

Lio leans his back against the side of the bed. “Talking about punching each other, I suppose.”

“Hmm, I guess... “ Hums Galo, and a short silence befalls them before either of them speak up. “Hey, I taught you how to bug-catch, right? And how to set off fireworks!”

“And about fountain gods, and how to buy things at stores…” Lio lists off few of the activities they’ve done in the past few days.

“Yeah! How about you teach me somethin’?”

“You?” Lio turns to him. He was so impressed by Galo’s knowledge about the world that the notion that he might know something Galo doesn’t had completely slipped his mind. “Like what?”

_ That _gets Galo’s giant grin to freeze as he looks away. “Uh…” He rocks back and forth in his seat as he tries to think of something. “Taxes?”

“I haven’t learned about those yet.”

“Dang. Cars?”

“Still too young.”

“Uhh…” Galo frowns as sweat starts appearing on his forehead. “Sssssschoo--”

“Homeschooled.”

“Crap.” He splays his legs out as he slaps the duvet with his fist half-heartedly. “Well, do ya have any like, special rich kid classes other than like, English n’ Math n’ stuff? Like fencing? Balancing a book on your head?”

“I’ve done the latter, in some kind of… composure or manners class. It was really boring, though.” And painful. Lio cringes as he remembers the slaps on his wrists from his old teacher everytime he messed up, before Engel was appointed as his tutor in most of his classes. He sighs. “And dancing classes were the worst because I couldn’t practice with anyone my height.” And because his parents are afraid other kid’s germs are gonna get to him and make him sick, but Galo doesn’t need to know that.

“Dancing?”

“Yeah. Ballroom dancing and waltz, mostly. Why, you don’t know how to?”

“N-no, not really…?” Galo chuckles as he massages his neck. “We had a few practices during gym, but I had to sit out ‘cuz nobody wanted to dance with me.”

“That’s…” Lio squints. “Really sad.”

“Yeaaaah…”

“Alright then,” Lio says, pushing himself off the bed and reaching over to grab Galo’s hand, tugging it to himself. “We know what I’m teaching you. Come on.”

“Wait, huh?” Galo stumbles out of his sitting position and falls forward, catching himself just in time so he can direct his widened eyes at the other boy. “What are we doing?”

“I’m gonna teach you to dance, obviously. My room’s big enough.”

“W-wait, _ really _!?”

Lio cocks an eyebrow. “Why are _ you _ so surprised? You’re the one who wanted me to.”

Galo blinks rapidly, his eyes switching from staring unbelievably at Lio to staring unbelievably at their hands. Lio loosens his grip on Galo a little as his poker face falls. “...Changed your mind?”

“_ No _!!” Shouts Galo, startling the shorter boy as he quickly gets off the bed and nearly falls flat on his face as he does. “Nonononono, YEAH! I’m totally up for it! Let’s do this!”

Lio blinks before he quickly smiles again. “Oh, okay.” He opened his mouth to say something else before remembering something.

“What?”

Lio bites his lip. “We don’t really have music to dance to…”

“Oooh, yeah, true.” The older boy agrees and goes to retrieve his phone once more. “Gimme a sec.”

“? Okay.”

Lio waited patiently as Galo tapped away at his phone, and leaned over so he can show the screen to Lio. It seems to be some sort of video-sharing website, with ‘the cat retunrs waltz’ being written in the square on the top of the site. Galo clicks on[ the first video ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blqe-dUGz90) and once it loads, pleasant, classical music starts playing.

“Is this good?” Galo inquires, halfway into the track, to which Lio nods. “Cool! I’ll put it on loop.”

As he does, Lio rolls back his pajamas sleeves to his elbows and walks to the middle of the room. After Galo did what he wanted with his phone and put it on the coffee table by the bed, he turns to Lio, who is holding one arm behind him, and the other in the air, palm tilted upwards, inviting his friend partner to dance. Galo seems a bit nervous for a second (he thinks he sees him gulp) before Galo pushes back the short sleeve on one of his arms and steps closer, putting his hand in Lio’s. The shorter boy then wraps his other arm around Galo so it lays against his shoulder blades.

“Wait,” Interrupts Galo, with his own arm hovering in the air. “Which one of us is gonna be the girl?”

Oh yeah. Lio didn’t really think about that. Nevertheless, he keeps up his calm facade as he makes up an excuse on the fly in order to not be in the ‘girl’ role. “I’m the instructor. Let me lead.”

“Uh, okay, fair, I guess.” Galo seems to buy it (heck yes), but his hand still twitches uselessly in the air. “So…?”

“Put your hand on my shoulder.”

“Oh, right.” He does as ordered. His hand is a little bit big, and Lio’s quite dainty, so his hand kind of awkwardly hangs off of Lio’s shoulder. Especially when he suspends his elbow in the air like it’s usually supposed to, but _ man _ does it look awkward. Even though they _ should _ follow the rules...

Wait a second.

He _ is _the rules here.

“On second thought,” Lio says, because _ he _ is the instructor here, not some grumpy old lady with a sharp ruler. “You can put your arm around my back, too.”

Galo’s soured face relaxes. “Oh, thank--Wait, is that like, legal?”

Lio shrugs and smirks. “When there’s no cops around, anything’s legal, right?”

“Heck yeah!” Galo cheers and swiftly wraps his left arm around Lio’s small back, instantly bringing them even closer, and his smile freezes for a moment.

“Alright, so,” Lio started, “Basically, waltz is sort of like dancing with your mirror. My teacher also said it’s like chasing after something you can’t get, because either you or your dancing partner are always moving away from the other.”

“Wow, that’s a depressing way to start this off.”

“Well, now you know how most of my classes are.” Deadpans Lio.

He starts explaining the basics of waltz. How you do basically the opposite of what your partner does (they slide in with their right foot, you back away with your left), the square, and later the ‘squiggly square’ pattern that the pair dance in (“Can we go straight to the sun pattern!?” “No. You’ll make us both kiss carpet.” “But Lio, squares are for squares!” “Uh huh??”), and…

“Do you remember the stances you showed me when we first met? The samurai ones?”

“Yeah! What about ‘em?”

“When you’re taking a step, bend your knees sort of like that, but less.”

“Oh! I get it!”

He didn’t get it. But eventually, he managed to dance so that it doesn’t look like he’s preparing to kneel down everytime he performs a step.

“So,” The taller speaks up as he looks down at their feet, loosened up and more relaxed now that he’s gotten used to the dance pattern, but still cautious. “When do the like, dips n’ stuff come in?”

“The what?”

“Y’know! The--” Galo breaks their handhold (only now Lio notices it got kind of sweaty, and wipes his hand on his PJ’s) and makes a motion of throwing something to the air before doing on of his bent-knees samurai poses and holding the invisible object under him now. “This thing.” He turns to Lio with a serious expression and oh, Lio thinks he knows what he’s talking about.

“That’s not in waltz.” He shakes his head. “I’m pretty sure that’s in tango or something.”

Galo stumbles and trips on his own two feet. “Wha--Really!?” He exclaims, almost in despair, with watery eyes directed at Lio. “So we won’t get to do it!?”

Lio leaned away a little bit. “Um, did you want to…?”

“Yeah! I-I mean--!” He quickly catches himself and starts making rapid gestures with his arms. “If I go to a wedding, I gotta impress people with my sick dancing skills, right!? Make everyone remember me as the cool guy who dipped that one guy! O-or kid? Whatever!” He suddenly grabs the light-haired boy by the shoulders and shakes him, causing him to yelp. “So we gotta do it!!”

Lio blinks, a little startled at the older boy’s determination over this, but nods shakily. “O-okay?? But I’ve never done it…”

“We’ll improvise!” Galo grins and before Lio can reply, the boy’s putting one hand on his waist and spinning him somewhere. Lio yelps and closes his eyes, and when the dizziness wears off, Galo’s above him, expression eager but shaky. Kind of like his arms.

Lio only has a second to appreciate how sort of?? Pretty?? Galo looks like before he notices the grip on him is slipping. “Galo--”

“See!? This is super charming, ri-_ hight _!?” Is all the ‘charming’ boy can say before he loses his balance and plummets into the ground, causing Lio to cough up a storm.

“S-Sorry!” He immediately springs to his knees and hovers worriedly over Lio. “Are you okay!?”

“I’m--” He coughs. “Fine… Just be more careful next time! I’m not _ that _ light!”

“Yeah, guess so… Sorry.” Galo bows his head, genuinely apologetic, and Lio just shakes his head as he gets up.

“It’s fine. Here.” He brushes himself off and holds out a hand to Galo, who, after looking up at the boy from his position on the ground for a moment and blinking twice, takes it with an unsure smile as they both hoist him up.

“Have ya ever been to a wedding, Lio?” Galo asks after he’s regained his balance.

“Two.” 

“I’ve never been to a wedding! Is it cool?”

Lio thinks back to one time when he accidentally drank some adult juice and passed out before the cake was even served, and another where he just spent the entire evening in the garden with his older cousin watching drunk people climb the monkey bars, avoiding eye contact with each other at all costs. “Define ‘cool’.”

“Like, is there a bouquet throw? A giant cake? The best man proposing to the bridesmaid!?”

“The first two, yes…”

“Did you ever catch it??” He leans into Lio’s space, fists pumping up and down. “The bouquet!?”

“No? I’m a boy, remember?”

“Wait,” Galo’s smile suddenly falls. “Boys can’t do the bouquet catch??” He whines, as if his whole world just fell apart from under him.

“No. The groom throws his tie to the boys instead.”

Galo squints before he answers. “That sounds so… _ lame _.”

“Yeah, it’s a real downgrade.”

Galo sighs, frustrated, as he crosses his arms. “When I get married, both me and the person I marry will carry bouquets! Then everyone will get a chance to nab some flowers!”

“That sounds pretty good, actually.” Perks up Lio, with a hand to his chin.

“By the way,” Says the older boy, back to his chipper mood as if it had never taken a blow at all. “Did ya know in Japan, the weddings are pretty different?”

“Really?” He remembers watching anime where characters fantasized about getting married in traditional American wedding wear. Are there really variants?

“Like, for one, only REALLY close family members are allowed in the ceremony. The more distant family and friends can only go to the reception.”

“Wow.” He gets that, actually. He always felt a little awkward about the thought of people he’s never met or talked to in his live would see him at his most important moment. He already felt bad as a guest for not recognizing anyone; he couldn’t imagine being in the newlyweds’ position.

“Also also--the things they wear are different! They wear kimonos!”

“Kee… huh?”

“Kimono! They’re traditional Japanese wear! Hold up,” Galo jogs up to his phone (which had still been playing the waltz music up before Galo stops it) and starts writing something on it as he walks back to Lio. “The kimonos are actually mostly for girls, and guys wear _ hakama _ most of the time. The boy ones aren’t as pretty as the girl ones, though.”

“So, like normal fashion?”

“Yeah, like normal fashion.” He slides his finger across the screen and frowns, switching to tapping something in with his thumbs again as he starts muttering under his breath. “_ What is this stuff, these are not _ \--oh! Here we go, kimonos!” Galo smiles and brings the screen between them, showing a photo of two women--one in a striking, red robe/dress/kimono, he supposes? The other is in a similar one, but in a white one, and has a big hat on her head. “The second is the one worn for weddings--by the bride, I mean. And instead of a veil, the bride wears a _ wataboshi _, which is like, a huge hat that covers her face from all sides. The first one is how a bride looks like during the reception, I think?”

“The hat looks kind of silly.” Lio comments. “But the kimono is pretty.”

“They’re both pretty!” Pouts Galo. “What’re you talking about!?

“Then, would you like to have a traditional wedding like that?” Lio asks, looking at Galo.

At that, Galo pauses and sticks his lip out, looking up. He then frowns as he hums. “Maybe? Kinda? I mean…” He lays the phone down on the table. “There’s some other stuff ‘bout Shinto--traditional weddings, too… Like how no one really dances at the party, there’s just a lot of speeches. And the groom n’ bride say their vows to the gods, not to each other. It seems more formal n’ serious.”

“Then, an American wedding?”

“Hmmmm…” Galo frowns, tilting his head to the side. “I’d like a mix.”

“A mix?”

“Like--! It’s got all the fun of an American wedding n’ but with like, all the beauty n’ other traditions of a Japanese wedding!”

“Is that even possible?”

“I’ll make sure there are no cops around to stop me!”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.”

“What are ya, a cop?” Lio rolls his eyes, at which Galo chuckles and leans against the bedside. “I mean, weddings like here exist there, too. I think it all depends on how the couple wants to do it.”

“I think it’d depend on how their parents want it.”

“Huh? Why?”

Lio walks over to the bed and puts his hands on the sheets. “A wedding will have a lot of old people who are the kind of people to put ‘no fun allowed’ signs on playgrounds. I heard my relatives criticizing a wedding I was at and nothing else. They complained that the _ balloons _ looked ugly.”

“Man, screw those people! No offense.” Galo says and Lio shrugs. “It’s _ my _ wedding, and I decide the decorations! ‘sides,” He puffs out his chest with a smirk. “I don’t have any other relatives!”

“Really? No cousins or uncles or anything?”

“Nope.”

“I have a really big family. Every year we meet up for Christmas, there’s another person I don’t recognize.”

“That sounds fun! I just spend it with my parents. We go out for new years with mom and dad’s friends, though.”

“_ That _ sounds fun.”

“Oh!” Galo claps his hands. “I should invite_ them _ to my wedding! They’re pretty cool!”

Lio tilts his head. “I mean, you’ll probably get friends when you’re older, you know.”

At that, Galo’s face twists and he scratches at his buzz cut. “Ehh… maybe?”

Lio frowns and lightly punches Galo’s shoulder. “You definitely will, you dunce.” He groans, like he’s talking about something obvious. “Once you get in a class with people who aren’t total jerks, you’ll get a bunch of friends in no time.”

Galo’s hand twitches as it comes up to rub at his arm. “You think so?”

“I’m sure of it.” He nods and smiles. “You’re amazing, Galo.”

Galo’s expression shows surprise, and it takes a bit before he smiles, though it seems a little sad, even as his hand reaches out for Lio’s to grasp it. “I wish you could go to school with me.”

“I’d like that!” Is Lio’s more automatic answer before he remembers his position, and his shoulders sag. “But I’d get sick a lot… Being around so many people and being somewhere that’s not my home will definitely send me to bed straight away.”

Galo puts his other hand on Lio’s. “Then I’d just come over to your house everyday to give you the homework! We’ll be together even if you’re not there!” He grins, and the hope and mirth contained in it has Lio feel genuine relief in seeing that mirth come back to his face once more. “‘In sickness and in health’ and all that!”

That, however, causes the younger to laugh, this time. “That’s a wedding line, dummy.” He corrects him, staring up at the blue-haired boy with one eye open.

  
“ _ HUH _!?” He jumps in shock, and nearly causes Lio to do so with him. “I-It is!?”

  
“Mhm. Like…” Lio looks around, his eyes falling on his bedsheets, and pulls his hands away from Galo’s so he can grab it and turn around, putting the duvet on the top of his head--a makeshift veil. He pulls it along as he turns back to Galo and grabs both of his hands, having them hover in front of them as he starts his demonstration.

_ “I, Lio,” _ He starts, staring right into Galo’s wide open eyes. _ “Take you as my husband for life. To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health,” _ He squeezes their hands, as if to say ‘heard that? That’s how you say it.’ _ “To love and cherish ‘til death do us part.” _

“L-Lio…” The other boy stutters out, amazed at the shorter boy’s memory, clearly.

With a proud huff, Lio releases his hold on Galo and steps back, putting his hands on his hips. “Got that? So don’t go saying that all willy-nilly to people. Save it for the wedding.”

“はい.”

Lio lifts an eyebrow and tilts his head. “Are you okay?”

Galo slowly blinks and breaks out of his daze, his face turning a bright pink as he immediately begins to flail his arms and stumble around. “_ Y-YEAH _ ! I mean-- _ I WILL _ ! Definitely! ‘course! _ Haha _!!” 

Lio stays perfectly still in his spot, only his head turning (making the bed sheets slide off of him in the process) so he can watch as Galo runs and jumps on the bed, all while laughing like a maniac with his hands pressed to his cheeks like some squealing anime high-school girl. After some bouncing, the older boy flops face-down into the bed, his giggles finally dying down. Lio takes a seat by Galo’s head as he waits for the other child to calm down.

Eventually, Galo’s head lifts from the sheets, still sporting his dumb, cute smile, and he throws a few chuckles in before he crawls away a bit so he can see Lio more easily. “I guess…” He starts a coherent chain of words, messing up his mohawk as he does. “Wedding clothes in American aren’t that bad, either…”

Lio only frowned at that, so Galo corrected himself as his hand went to town on his hair. “You’d um…? Look really pretty in a veil…?”

Lio crosses his arms. “I don’t want to wear a dress, though…”

“You don’t gotta!” Galo shoots up. “You can wear a suit _ and _ a veil! We were just like ‘screw wedding cops’ a second ago, right? You can do whatcha want!”

Lio blinks, and thinks about it. A clean, white suit, with embroidered patterns like in a dress, a long tailcoat behind him, a bouquet, and a long veil over his face as he walks down the aisle to join his soon-to-be spouse…

"A suit with a veil, huh…” Lio smirks and directs it at Galo. “That sounds nice."

“Yeah,” The boy laying down props his chin on his hand, still gazing at Lio with sparkly, drooping eyes. “You’d look good in one…”

“Hm?”

“I-I SAID I’D LOOK GOOD IN ONE!”

Hhmm…” Lio calmly puts a finger to his chin, choosing to ignore the older boy’s weird outburst. He shakes his head. “With your hair, I doubt it.”

“Wha--!? Really…?” He whines, and starts smoothing out his messed up spikes. “Maybe I should change it…”

“No, _ don’t! _” Lio quickly interrupts as he slaps his hands on the bed, startling Galo a little. Lio clears his throat to level his voice. “It’s silly and doesn’t make any sense, and it’s gonna get in the way when people are behind you and trying to look at something. But…” He looks away with a pout. “But it fits you. It’s cool. And ‘you’.”

“Oh…” Galo sounds a bit breathless, but quickly stands up on the bed before Lio can analyze it. “Y-Yeah, it does make me stand out huh!?” He puts his hand to his chin as he laughs obnoxiously once more. Lio sighs and lays down on the bed. He stares up at the ceiling.

“When I grow up, I’m probably gonna marry someone my parents want me to marry.”

“That sounds… suck-y.” Galo frowns and sits down, cross-legged. “You should _ not _ do that.”

Lio turns on his side, away from Galo. “It won’t be my choice.”

“Yeah, so make your own choice! Choose your own spouse, choose your family!”

“It won’t be that easy.”

“Yeah.” He hears the smile appear in Galo’s voice. “It’ll be a challenge, right?”

A challenge against his parents. Against his secluded life.

Against fate.

“Family’s not easy to replace.”

“It’s… not.” He hears Galo weakly reply.

“But..” Lio starts to sit up before the other can say anything else and turns to him with a small, but sly smile. “It might be worth it in the long run.”

Galo blinks at him before he returns the smile, tilting his head. Then, his eyes drift somewhere else, and he quickly passes by Lio to look out the window.

“Hey! It stopped raining!” He says, cheerfully, bouncing on his heels, before his motions stop. “Oh, no wait, no it didn’t. It’s way better now, though!”

“It better.” Sighs Lio, playfully. “It’s about time things got better.”

There’s a knock on the door before it opens to reveal Colum holding a laundry basket under his arm.

“Clothes for milords, fresh and ready to go!”

“Huh?” Galo exclaims in disbelief. “That was fast!”

“We have a dryer.”

“What’s a dryer?”

“A clothes dryer.” Lio explains.

“Man, you really _ are _ rich. You don’t even need _ wind _ to dry your clothes.”

“Money’s good for something, sometimes.”

“Sometimes.”

“Always!” Colum adds. “You just need to use it right.”

“Like on a friend!” Galo says cheerfully as he grabs Lio’s hand, and the boy squeezes back.

“Yeah! ‘Friend’~ Wink, wink.” He says as he winks twice.

Lio frowns. “What’s that mean?” 

“Nothing~!” The butler sing-songs as the puts the basket on the ground near the bathroom entrance. “Come getcha clothes, I’ll be back for the basket later. Tata~!” And with that, he’s out the door.

“What was that about…?”

“W-Who knows…” Comes Galo’s odd reply, and Lio only reacts with a shrug before pulling the boy along in the direction of the basket.

“Come on, let’s get you out of my clothes.”

“But they’re so _ comfy _!”

“Exactly. Which is why I want them back.”

“Aw.”

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🔻

“You sure you don’t need a ride?”

“Nope! Thank you for letting me stay over!” Galo announces, clad in his fresh clothes, as he bows deeply in the hall in front of the front door to Lio, Sera and Colum. “I’m sorry if I bothered you in any way!”

“Don’t sweat it!” Colum waves his hand dismissively with an easygoing grin. “We’re just glad master Lio had someone to spend the day with!” 

Sera nods. “Yeah. We were preparing purée for the mistress and master just now, so you’re not pulling us out of anything particularly exciting.”

Colum’s expression falls as well as his hand, as he looks up at the maid. “Wait, purée? I thought we were making pudding?”

Sera squints down at the man with a death glare before grabbing his lapels and hoisting him off the ground with one hand. “We were _ SUPPOSED _ to be preparing purée for the mistress and master.” She grits out, showing to reaction to Colum’s panicked flailing. “Oh yeah, by the way.” Her voice returns to normal as she points to an umbrella stand near the door. “You can keep one. We have like, thirty.”

The children laugh awkwardly at the spectacle, and Galo bows slightly towards Sera again before he grabs Lio’s hand in both of his.

“Don’t have a super-big breakfast tomorrow, okay?”

“O… kay?

Galo giggles as he winks, and it’s almost like he’s letting Lio in on some sort of secret. He smirks, and puts his second hand on Galo’s. 

“またね.” He smiles.

“Mhm!” Galo nods strongly. “じゃね!”

With a final squeeze, he lets go, mulling over which umbrella he should pick before swiping a blue one and opening the door. He opens the umbrella and starts jogging backwards, waving to the occupants of the house with a big grin on his face. Lio happily waves back until the other boy takes a turn and he can’t see him anymore, closing the door.

“Good kid.” He hears Sera say.

“Good boy.” Colum adds, voice not strained anymore, so Lio guesses he’s back on the ground now. 

He smiles as he sighs fondly, a hand to where his heart is beating rather quickly. “Amazing guy.”

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_ “They say that the best flame burns brightest when circumstances are at their worst.” _

By the time his parents return, the rain had already stopped.

Lio pauses the movie he’d been watching--another one from the Ghibli CD, ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’--as he gets up to greet his parents. It’s more out of habit than wanting to welcome them back at this point.

“And he didn’t do _ anything _?” He hears his mother’s voice as he’s walking down the stairs.

“No, ma’am.” Sera’s voice comes next. “They just stayed in the salon all day. Had our eyes on them at all times.”

“They watched movies and ran around the place while his clothes dried.” Colum adds.

“I see… That’s good.” His mum sighs. “Still, Engel, make sure he takes more vitamins from now on. Who knows what that child might have passed on to him.”

“Yes, milady.” Engel’s smooth voice is already enough to soothe Lio’s nerves. It feels like days since he’s last heard him. It instantly makes him quicken his pace, despite himself.

He sees various servants loitering around, wet and tired, giving him half-hearted greetings and bows as they walk to and fro. Lio starts walking faster to the salon, and once he enters, he sees Engel perk up and smile.

“Lio!” His mother exclaims, quickly trotting over to him and kneeling down, putting her hands on his shoulders. Oh, right, she was here, too. “Are you alright?”

Though angry at the insinuation that Galo might’ve done something to harm him, Lio keeps a straight face. “I’m fine.”

“For sure?”

“Mhm.”

She pats him down nevertheless, checking him from every angle. “Well, you don’t _ seem _ to be hurt anywhere…” She sighs as she stands up.

“See?” His father chuckles as arrives from the kitchen. “As long as he doesn’t catch the flu, it should be alright.”

The woman sends her husband a glance before switching her gaze back to her son. “Are you planning to see that boy tomorrow?”

He doesn’t think he can lie at this point since his parents know about his friend, so he just nods. “Yes.”

“Engel, you’ll go with them.”

“Naturally.”

“Make sure he doesn’t take him anywhere suspicious, or eat anything that might harm him, and god _ forbid they leave your sight _\--”

“Milady, watching over Master Lio is my job. I won’t fail you like last time.”

“You better not.” She says in a stern, threatening tone as she looks down at Lio one last time. “Lio, luv…”

Lio blinks, waiting for whatever her order might be _ this _ time.

“Just... don’t bring in any more strays.”

And he immediately decides he won’t ever follow that demand, even as he nods.

His mother leaves, and so does his father after messing up his hair a little on the way out. His hand moves to smooth it out, but feels another, more gentle hand on his head before he can, and looks up to see Engel kneeling down next to him with his signature smile.

Lio returns the smirk and throws his hands around the man’s neck. “Welcome back.” He says into his shoulder and receives a pat to the back before he’s hoisted into the man’s arms and Engel stands up. 

“Good to be back.” He chuckles and starts strolling into the hall. “You have _ no _ idea how bad the beach looked. Trash, loitered _ everywhere _!” He laments. “Honestly, the rain was a bit of a blessing. I doubt it’s much worse than staying inside the whole day, but…”

“It’s okay.” Lio interrupts. “I had a lot of fun.”

“Really? Sera didn’t give you too bad of a time, did she?”

“No, we talked yesterday and she and Colum let us do what we wanted. She’s okay.”

“‘Okay’? Hah, now that’s not something I’ve ever heard be used to describe her.”

“She didn’t tell anything bad to mum, did she?”

“No, surprisingly. I know you’re an angel, milord, but she vouched for young master Galo, as well. Quite unexpected behaviour from her, might I add.” He readjusts his grip on the boy as he starts walking up the stairs. “Did your charm really reach her so?”

“I guess? I don’t know what that means, though.”

“Well…” He pauses. “At least you got to spend time with your friend leisurely at home. A sure improvement from picking your bruised friend off the street.”

“He was scared and hurt and alone.” Argues Lio. “I’d never leave him like that, even if it meant fighting with mum.”

Engel huffs out a laugh as he opens the door to Lio’s room. “You’re like your father, in that regard.”

“Don’t say that.”

“I mean the positive aspects of him, not the entire package.” And Lio can just see Engel roll his eyes as he puts him down on the floor and closes the door. “Your father picked me off the streets, too.”

Lio’s eyes widen at that. “What? But I thought he met you at a party you were kate… Um...”

“Catering in.” Engel finishes his sentence and nods when the boy does. “He actually hired me _ at _the party.” He goes to explain as he leans against the wall and Lio takes a seat on his bed. “He saw me wandering the streets, we chatted, he dragged me through the back of the mansion, gave me clean clothes and had me freshen up a bit. Then, he said to me; ‘Let’s see how well you balance ten bottles of champagne!’ and sent me to the hall.”

“Why… did he do that?”

Engel laughs heartily, hovering his hand over his mouth as he does. “I haven’t the slightest idea! Your father’s a generous idiot.” He crosses his arms as he looks down at the ground wistfully. “He is oblivious, and should consider others’ feelings more, but I owe my current position to him.”

There’s a short pause before he picks his head up and smacks his lips, pushing his pompadour back. “And to my perfect humor, of course.”

“Of course.” Lio groans out. He looks down at the carpet before he kicks his legs against the bed and mumbles, “Is my father really that good of a person?” 

Engel takes his time thinking about that, and audibly hums before he comes to an answer. “Master Lio, you are good at walking, right?”

“What? Um…” He shrugs. “I suppose?”

“But would you be able to do it all your life? Non-stop? With almost no breaks?”

He immediately shakes his head. “No way!”

“Phrixus is a good man. Objectively a terrible father, though.”

Oh.

“Oh…”

“So… were it another lifetime, maybe you two would have gotten along. But as it stands, I do not blame you if you hold ill will towards your father.” He pushes himself off the wall, and places a hand on Lio’s shoulder. “I only plead that you grow up to become more understanding than him.”

Lio glances at the hand, and trails his gaze up to Engel’s eyes. “Do you… like Dad or not?”

The butler’s face twitches a little, and he looks away. “I respect him.” He starts, a little unsure. “I admire the man he used to be. But people change, and you have to understand that they might never change back for the better.”

“Then why are you still here?”

Engel’s hand slides off his shoulder then, and he turns his head away.

“I don’t know… If I have anywhere else to go.”

He says, and it’s so quiet, so shaky, that Lio doesn’t recognize him for a moment.

But as quick as that moment of vulnerability appeared, it vanishes with Engel whipping his head back to Lio with a sly grin. “And, of course, you’re here.” He chuckles out, patting Lio’s head. “And until you’re independent enough to be able to break from your shackles, I will always stay at your side, and even after that.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

And although Engel’s smile still looked a little strained, after Lio gave him a smile of his own, it seemed to bring the shine back in his eyes just a little.

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_ Lio doesn’t remember much of his dream that night. He just remembers white, bright blue and pink colors mixing together into an odd yet perfect combination, and another body he knows he can trust enveloping him in a warm, protective embrace. _

  
  
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im like dropping hints galo has a crush on lio
> 
> august 3rd is campfire day, and may 24th is the day promare first aired in japan!
> 
> Lio's vows are based on snam's comic!! read it here https://www.instagram.com/p/B0n65yxF0_v/
> 
> thank you for reading!!


	6. Day Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 110 GOOGLE DOC PAGES AND 2 MONTHS LATER, I AM ALIVE
> 
> ok so, why did i not update in a while? several reasons  
-university started, and with that i have very little free time  
-i am only one human and i can write so much at once  
-family issues  
-kinktober
> 
> however with the help of supportive peeps on the promare discord and your comments, i kept writing!! thank you so much for your support and i hope you enjoy Day Six!
> 
> if you see any inconsistencies or typos, do let me know!
> 
> and as a last note, here's a callout @ myself
> 
> https://66.media.tumblr.com/4e6cd63f204b045a7553e60b2e95b7a1/tumblr_q1hzc3T4fw1rri3ywo1_1280.jpg

Lio wakes up from his nice dream with a start.

What time is it?

He frantically searches for the clock on his wall and sees its only a little ‘til ten. Thank goodness he hadn’t overslept. Of course, he had gone to bed early, so that should be expected. After witnessing him yawn, Engel softly chuckled and tucked him into bed with a pat on the head, humming a tune until Lio’s breath evened out.

Despite all the drama yesterday, Lio woke up energized and ready.

With that fact, Lio smiled as he slid out of bed

and promptly fell on his face after getting his feet caught in the sheets.

He rolls over and takes a deep breath.

Another.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Today’s his last day.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


And then he shoots up, the energy from before coming back, stronger than ever as he opens the closet.

No bad thoughts today.

Act natural.

There’s no fire, he reminds himself, as he adjusts his small cravat in the mirror and takes a long, good look at himself.

Today’s his last day.

Today’s his last day.

Today’s his last day, and he can’t wait to experience it.

He nods, smiles and rushes out the door.

  
  


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“Young master Galo texted me.” Engel informs him as he sets the hefty breakfast down on the table. “He will be here a bit later than usual, at half past one.”

“Really?” Lio questions as he starts slowly digging in. “I wonder what came up.”

“When does he usually drop by?” His mother inquires from the other end of the table, taking a sip of her tea as she holds a novel in her other hand.

“Twelve.”

“An early worm, I take it?” Hey eyebrows rise a little. “Not too early to complain, but not too late to waste time. I can respect that.”

“He’s twelve, honey,” His father shook his head with a smile without looking away from his laptop. “I’m quite sure the only occupation he’s looking for at the moment is as a boy scout.”

“Eleven.” Lio corrects.

“Same thing.”

_ ‘Not really, but okay.’ _ Lio shrugs as he stabs into his fried egg.

The clank on the porcelain plate signifies that his mum is done with her tea."Where are you two going?"

"Um…" He thinks for a bit, looking up at the lamp. "The city."

"Engel, prepare some water and pills for him. He might get hysteria from wandering around."

'_ Oh, so NOW you decide to pack me these!?' _Lio almost wants to growl out, but stops himself. "Already done, milady." Engel replies as he lifts up a small, black backpack. Hold on, since when did they have that? It's not Lio's, he doesn't go outside!? His mother nods, unfazed, however, and Engel's calm smile doesn't tell him anything. Lio sends a shifty look to the table as he begins to become a little scared of what else he might not know and slowly gets down from his chair. "Thank you. I'll be in my room." He says and the adults nod, with the butler waving at him.

As Lio walks upstairs, he realizes something and freezes.

The _ one time _he gets up early and Galo's late!

He pouts. Well, the heck does he do now while he waits for the boy to get here?

…

What _ did _he do around here before he met Galo?

He thinks back. Sitting in the grass, reading books. He still hasn't finished the one he was in the middle of when he met Galo. Playing with Cerberus, but the pooch is not here this year (Lio remembers feeling more numb than usual when he heard the dog wouldn't be coming with them. The ride to Promepolis felt so empty without him, he almost started crying). Watching the telly. Or, whatever channels they had. They were mostly news broadcasts, day in and day out, with weather forecast and, if Lio was really lucky, old sports matches or kids shows. But nothing really exciting.

And absolutely no anime. He sighs. What is the _ point _ of putting cable in here if there's no anime? Of course he's too scared to ask his parents because mum's _ 'You've got your telly and you're still complaining? _' still haunts him every time he looks at the thing.

He also occasionally helped Engel in the kitchen, but the results were disastrous most of the time and he ended up locking himself up in his room in shame.

His vacation here from the last year and the one before that seem so… _ uneventful _compared to now.

‘Boredom’? Is this what being ‘bored’ is? Lio doesn’t think he’s ever felt this way before. Or at least, didn’t notice it.

He groans. He never did finish watching the movie last night. Maybe that’ll distract him. Even if _ there _ were only like, fifteen minutes left.

And so, he does just that.

Turns out, it was actually thirteen minutes including the credits. Which Lio still watched.

‘Okay, to heck with this.’ Lio thinks as he turns off the TV and stomps to the door. He needed some sunshine anyway.

  
  


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“Um, master Lio?”

“Hmm?” Lio says, not bothering to look at Colum despite his slightly worried tone of voice.

“I can bring you a blanket or a chair, if you want?”

“I’m fine.”

“You sure?”

Lio frowns and releases a puff of air to get his fringe out of his eyes. “Okay.”

“‘Aight, be right back!” And with a salute, the young butler starts jogging back to the mansion.

Lio goes back to watching the road.

He’s been sitting by the estate’s gates, just off the pathway for about ten minutes now. Sure, there’s still thirty minutes left until Galo gets here, but that’s _ only _ thirty minutes! He has to make sure to welcome him! Even if it means sitting on the grass and possibly staining his pants just so he can see him coming!

Lio’s patient. _ Very _ patient.

Anyone who says this seems boring is _ wrong _.

“Isn’t this a bit boring to you?” Colum says as he comes back carrying a folded-up blanket.

“You’re wrong.” Lio immediately responds, stern, still stuck in his own thoughts.

Colum seems to take that as a threat and trips, just barely catching himself enough to let Lio see the slightly panicked look on his face. “O-okay.” He then clears his throat and splays the blanket on the grass, motioning for Lio to sit. The boy looks at him, then the blanket, then slides onto it, immediately resuming to watch the road as he crosses his arms. Colum laughs by his side. “You really like that lil’ dude, huh, master Lio?”

“Of course I do.” The boy nods. “Galo’s cool.”

“Yeah, he is a pretty eccentric fella, ain’t he?” Colum chuckles and knocks his elbow against Lio's side playfully, but due to their size and strength and everything difference, it emitted a grunt out of Lio and caused him to rub at the spot. “Think he’s good long-term material?”

"He's… huh?"

"Do ya think he's in it for the long haul? The long road?" He swayed his elbows from side to side like an old-timey cartoon character. "Country road? Take you home? To the pl--"

Lio put up both of his hands in front of Colum's face to make him stop. "I'm not _ that _ good at American yet!"

"Oh, sorry." The butler massages at his head with a slightly shameful grin. "What I mean is, I gueeeeess…" He hums as he looks up at the blue sky. "Think you two'll stay like this after we leave?"

Lio flinches. "Hmpf."

"Ah, don't wanna think about it, huh? I get it." He has enough empathy to understand that, at least. "But you two are kids! So you'll either forget about each other quick or--"

Lio has decided he's used up enough patience in the past hour and that he's had enough. He hastily stands up and grabs Colum by the lapels. "Never!" Lio shouts, shaking the yelping butler. "I'll never forget Galo, and he'll never forget about me! _ Never _!" He finishes by frantically shaking Colum's surprisingly dainty shoulders and lets go, sitting down cross-legged and pouting once more, except now he's on the verge of tears.

"I…" Colum nervously starts after regaining the ounce of composure he has. "I was gonna follow that up with 'or you'll remember each other to the end of time', but, um. Glad you let that out of your system, master." He giggles fearfully as he tries smoothing out his crumpled vest, the sound fading into a quiet whine. "Omigoshpleasedon'tcryLordEngel'sgonnakillme."

“‘m not crying.” Lio quietly says, right before sniffling back his tears.

“Oh, uh, okay, that’s cool, milord.”

“How’d you get this job, anyway?”

“Oh, I’m in debt.” Colum replies, as if saying the weather’s nice today.

“What?”

“Debt. Like, I owe money. To your parents. I broke a vase by accident while looking around their store and I got hired to rack up money for them.”

“Vase?” Wait, that sounds familiar. “What vase?”

“Like uh, a silver one?” The man makes an oval shape in the air with his hands. “It was like this biiiiig round vase on the second floor where they kept special parts and trophies.”

Lio’s eyes widen.

Oh.

Uh.

This is awkward.

Lio tries hard to keep a neutral face but his face keeps contorting into a strained frown as the man goes on.

“It’s gonna take me awhile to save up, but…” He shrugs. “I dunno. I kinda like it here.”

“With… my parents?”

“Yeah! Pays good, foods good, peoples good. This beats going to Uni anyday.”

“But... you’re a servant.” Lio points out. “You work under _ Sera _. Don’t you get tired of her being mean to you?”

Colum spares him a look. “Sera? Yeah, she harps on me twenty-four-seven. But, that’s kinda what I like about her?”

Lio once again wishes he could say question marks out loud as his face contorts at Colum’s words.

“She’s all brash and tough…” Colum continues as he looks up at the sky, a carefree smile on his face, of all things. “But also serious about work n’ getting things done. And I really respect that about her, ya know? I always half-ass things.”

“Swear.” Lio interrupts instead of taking the bait the man is sending into the water for compliments.

“Oh, shoot, right, you can’t say tier-one swear words yet. Or is that tier-two? I dunno. Anyway, didja know she has a lil’ sister?

“She mentioned it before, I think…”

“Sera’s working really hard so that her sis can get into a world-class science school. They’re kinda poor, though, so Sera took up this job willingly and threw herself into it. The reason she climbed the ranks so quick is ‘cuz your mom respected her for her dedication.”

“Oh, wow…” Lio won’t lie, that’s pretty valiant of her.

“She also gets this like, stupid-soft smile every time she’s on the phone with her sis or texting her? It’s like, reaaaal cute~”

Aaaand he’s back to his usual self. Okay. “So, you don’t dislike her because she has a reason to be mean to you?”

“Psh, it’s not that.” Colum waves him off with a pout. “Just ‘cuz someone has it hard doesn’t excuse them being a jerk all the time. I just don’t mind people being a little mean to me if they’re my friends.” He explains. “Like, as long as it’s nothing that cuts deep or hurts your feelings, you should be able to make jabs at your pals.”

“What if they _ do _ hurt you?”

“Then you tell them.” Colum rolls his eyes, like it’s obvious. “People exist so that they can learn stuff, and that includes learning more about stuff they already thought they knew. Humans can change so that they won’t hurt others. ‘Course… there exist people that just won’t take ‘no’ for an answer, and in that scenario, they’re just kind of a lost case.” He then pauses, looking around, as if he’s lost in thought before he places his chin in his hand with a contemplative look. “Hm. Maybe that’s why I didn’t hesitate to accept the job.”

“Did you have a lot of people like that? That didn’t want to stop hurting you?” Lio isn’t really sure how to feel about this guy, but he’s genuinely curious, and he needs to kill time somehow while waiting for Galo to get here.

And having to stay around people that hurt him is something he can easily relate to. 

Colum hums affirmatively. “I mean, I kept most of my friends around ‘cuz they were the only ones I had, and didn’t call ‘em out when they talked about me being adopted n’ stuff. Even though it hit like, deep, I felt like it shouldn't? Like I was the one that was being bad for feeling like that? It was weird, man.” He shakes his head. “But everyone here has a different life style and minds their own business ‘cuz we all have our own issues, and it’s just… something I love. Everyone can be themselves… as long as we do our jobs right, of course.”

He ends with a chuckle and Lio finds himself smiling a little too.

“I mean, I ain’t exactly the most dedicated person. I get that. I need others to keep an eye on me to make sure I don’t accidentally set fire to somethin’. And Sera is that type of person. Like a team mom. I feel like… I dunno.” He shrugs. “It wasn’t ‘til I started working here that I realized how… _ nice _ it feels to get something done yourself and get harped on not ‘cuz of some misunderstanding, but ‘cuz you made a genuine mistake and need to learn from it.” He pumps his fists with a grin and shiny eyes. “And I _ like _ that! I’m actually _ learning _ stuff!”

‘Misunderstanding’, huh. Lio’s hand balls in the blanket. Colum’s continuing to pour his heart out but this is still REALLY awkward.

“Anyway,” He settles down and grins down at the boy. “I-emm-oh, a friendship is where you two can insult each other without hurting each other’s feelings! You don’t gotta be all ‘best friends, awesome pals’ all the time. It’s the underlying secret communication network between the two of you that brings you together.”

“I… still don’t get it.” Lio lowers his head to look at the grass and splays out his legs on the blanket. “I mean… I guess I do that sometimes with Galo? Like, I sometimes call him a dummy and he sometimes calls me cute, but neither of us get _ really _ mad about it. We forget about it after a minute.”

“He _ calls you cute _?”

Lio ignores Colum’s surprised tone and continues talking. “But Galo doesn’t really have a good life at home or at school, so I wouldn’t make fun of him for that. That’s too mean. And I want him to be happy and not have to worry about that stuff when he’s with me.”

_ ‘I want him to be safe with me.’ _ He doesn’t add. Huh, since when had he become so… _ protective _? Is this how Engel feels?

It feels kind of… nice.

“There we go! That’s what I mean!” Colum claps. “See, you’re already on the path to winning his heart, master!”

Lio looks up to the man with a pout. “I don’t want his heart. He needs that to live!” He replies, dead serious.

Colum blinks before he lets out a short laugh and shakes his head. “Yeah… Who am I kidding.” He nods, eyes closed. “You’ve already got it, haven’t you?”

And Lio’s about to ask what’s _ that _ supposed to mean--he would never hurt Galo!--Until he hears it.

A shout in the distant road.

Lio quickly whips his head around to the road he’d been watching so fervently and stands up, squinting as he stares into the distance and sees a familiar, giant head of blue hair.

Lio smiles and starts running. He hears Colum call out for him with an amused ‘hey!’ but he didn’t acknowledge it.

He kept running and running until the silhouette in the road gets clearer and clearer, and they both slow to a stop...

...Only for Lio to start coughing up a storm, instead.

“Woah, deep breaths, Lio!” Galo urges him in a worried tone with arms outstretched as the other boy’s head lowers to mask his coughs. 

Lio thumps his chest with a fist before he looks up at Galo with a forced smile. “I’m fine…” He groans out, and Galo doesn’t look convinced at all, but still takes Lio’s hand when the boy holds it out and they start walking to the mansion together. “Did you run all the way here?”

“Yeah! No class today, so I gotta make up for it.” Galo explains. “You should jog, by the way, not run at full speed! Like, set up a pace that’s good for your health n’ stuff.”

“I’ll ask Engel about it later.”

“Good idea!” Galo grins his sunshine grin and Lio already feels like they’re off to a good start.

“‘Morning, Galo!” He hears Colum shout from the gate, holding the now-folded blanket in his arm and waving enthusiastically with his other. “Thanks for coming to pick up our lil’ lord today!”

“Oh, hey, you’re the guy from yesterday!” Galo points out with no shame at all in his cheery voice and Lio snorts. “No biggie! It’s good exercise!”

And Lio’s delighted to see the butler flinch as his grin falters, as well as his arm. “‘T-That guy’...?” He whines out. “The name’s--”

Lio suddenly remembers something and interrupts Colum. “Oh, right. Galo.” He turns to Galo and grabs his other hand so that both are in his grasp. “大好きだよ!”

Galo flinches a bit and pulls one hand away from Lio’s grip so he can scratch at his buzz cut as he laughs stupidly. 

“おはよう~ 俺も~” He giggles the sentence out more than he says it.

“Wha… Wait.” Colum once again interrupts their conversation, his gaze switching between the two of them. “Doesn’t that mean--”

But it’s interrupted by his high-pitched yelp, and the boys look up at the commotion curiously only to see Engel, his fist perched on the younger butler’s head. “G’day, Young master Galo. You’re early, aren’t you? A true gentleman move, if I may say.” He says with a smile as he continues grinding his knuckles into the brown-haired man’s skull, not reacting to any of his grunts of pain.

Galo seems unaware of Colum’s muffled cries for help and beams up at the elder. “Yeah! I finished the stuff I wanted to earlier, so I got here as fast as I could!”

“Wonderful!" Engel finally has mercy on the man and lets him flop to the ground as he claps his hands together. "I shall get the car ready, then.”

At that, however, Galo lets out a noise of surprise. “Wait, Mr. Engel, you’re gonna drive us to the city?”

“Indeed.” He nods, beginning his stride to the car parked on the left side of the estate. “My lady’s orders.”

“Oh…”

Lio notices the blue-haired child’s shoulders sag and squeezes their still-linked hands. “You didn’t do anything bad.” He whispers. “My mum’s just paranoid.”

“Y-yeah…” Galo nods shakily.

“How were you planning to get us there, anyway?”

“Uhh, I was gonna carry you?”

Galo bonks the boy on the head. “Dummy.” He only sticks his tongue out, though, and Lio does the same.

“Oh! Oh, I just got a _ great _ idea.” Colum suddenly says, running backwards into the mansion. “Don’t go just yet, I’ll be right back!”

The boys nod hesitantly as the doors open before Colum can even get his hands on the handles,

And reveal Lio’s mother being the culprit.

The children hold each other’s hands tighter as the butler nervously bows and steps around her, letting the woman walk towards them with nothing in her way.

And even though Lio can sense Galo’s fear, he’s still a bit surprised when he bows deeply to her, too. “Good morning, ma’am!”

“Good morning… Thymos, was it?” Lio’s mother levels the boy with a neutral look. It’s a bit softer than the one she uses with other adults, probably because Galo’s a kid, but she still keeps the distance she usually does. “You’ll be taking my son to the city today?”

“Yes, ma’am!” He puffs out his chest and thumps his fist on it. “I promise I’ll keep him safe!”

“When will you escort him back?”

“Ummm…” The older boy’s expression twists into a small frown. “When can I?”

The lady of the house crosses her arms. “I want Lio back by four.”

And despite trying hard to be polite, Galo still jumps up in shock at those words. “Four!? But that’s only like, three hours…!” He whines out. Not even three, it’s more like two hours, not including the ride back… Lio feels his expression fall when he sees Galo’s hurt one.

But his mother stands tall. “It should be plenty of time for the two of you to do what you wanted to do.”

“But…”

Lio sees the sparkle in Galo’s eyes disappear, feels the fire in his soul slowly diminishing, and he just can’t sit there while Galo tries his best to stand up to a person that isn’t even his own mother.

This is _ his _ battle.

Lio squares up all of his courage and looks up at his mother.

“But Engel will be with us. So I’ll be extra safe.” He breathes out, keeping a stern face mirroring his mother’s. “He won’t let me get within twenty feet of something dangerous.”

Her frown deepens. “Lio, you are--”

“Please, mum!” He interrupts, and puts on the best puppy eyes he can without actually letting his frown disappear. “I promise I’ll be home on time.”

His mother pauses then, looking between Galo and Lio, their intertwined hands, their feet rooted in the stone road.

She closes her eyes.

“Six.” She finally says, and the boys audibly gasp. “My final offer.”

Galo lets out a loud ‘YES!’ and wraps his arms clumsily around Lio as he giggles and bounces happily, before remembering the woman is still right there and promptly detaching himself from the boy. “Thank you so much, ma’am!”

Lio’s mother hums, throws in a “Don’t mention it.” before completely turning to head back into the mansion.

It almost sounds like a warning, and Lio can’t help but stick his tongue out at her for all to see except her. Galo giggles and it makes it all the more worth it.

The doors open for the woman again to reveal Colum running along the road, hastily greeting her, and kneeling in front of the boys with a quick huff.

“Phew, here!” He holds out what appears to be some tupperware, with some yellow, gooey substance inside and puts it in Lio’s small hands. “Pudding from yesterday! I made too much, but it ended up pretty nicely! Eat it for dessert!” He places both gloved hands on the boys’ heads, ruffling their hair roughly before standing up with a laugh.

“Milords!” Lio turns his head to follow Engel’s voice, and sees that he had already parked the car on the asphalt road towards Promepolis and he is holding the car door open for the children. “Shall we head off?”

“Okay, I won’t keep ya any longer.” Colum salutes and winks. “Have a nice date, you two!”

Lio nods. “We will.”

Meanwhile, Galo jolts, for some reason, and his mouth goes slack as he gazes at Colum’s retreating back, his arms flailing in the air like he’s trying to say something but can’t get the words out. Lio quirks an eyebrow as he grabs his arm and tugs him towards the car. “He just wished us a nice day, Galo. He’s not threatening you. And even if he was, you just need to shout at him and he’ll start crying.”

“Huh?” Galo gets out in a shaky voice, but eventually moves from his spot and follows Lio. “O-Oh, y-yeah! Right! That’s what he… haha!” He gives a crooked grin, and Lio figures he still has some ways to go before he can truly figure Galo out.

  
  


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“Dude, you weren’t kidding ‘bout your parents owning a car biz’.” Galo says after they’ve put on their seatbelts and starts whipping his head in every direction. “I dunno like, _ anything _ about cars, but this feels so fancy! Even the seats are super soft! I feel like I’m on a bean bag!” He emphasizes by jumping in his seat a little and patting it as he kicks his feet.

“‘Speed and comfort’ is our company’s motto.” Engel says amusedly as the car speeds up.

“They’re nice to sleep on during car rides.” Lio says.

“I bet! Maaaan, sleeping while riding blows, but I think these seats are softer than my actual bed. When you’re ridin’ back, you’re probably gonna fall asleep right away, huh?”

Lio’s hands twitch in his lap. “Mm. I guess.” He nods hesitantly.

“Ack--sorry, guess you don’t wanna talk about that, huh…?” Galo massages at his head and lowers it. “Sorry...”

“No, it’s fine.” He shakes his head along with any incoming bad thoughts and instead cranes his neck up to smile at Galo. “I don’t want to think about that for now. I just want to focus on you.”

And that seems to get Galo’s mind back on track. “Oh.” He says blankly, his eyes frantically looking around once more. “O-Okay.” 

Engel huffs through his nose in the driver seat and Lio cocks an eyebrow at him, but doesn’t call him out.

“Still, it’d kinda suck to sell such nice cars as a job… Like, I’d wanna keep these things for myself! And I’m not even into cars!”

“I thought you said you don’t want a job.”

“And I told ya, I do if you’re there!”

He doesn’t need a reminder. He’s still flustered about it.

“And ‘sides…” Galo continues before Lio can counter with a probably insulting remark. “I’ve thought about what kinda job I wanna have after all that stuff yesterday.”

“Really?”

“Mm. I was thinkin’ like…” He tilts his head to the side. “A doctor? Or a vet? Somethin’ with helpin’ people.

Lio’s eyes widen. “That’s… pretty cool, actually.”

“I know right?” Galo laughs as he looks back to the younger boy. “I was talkin’ with mom and dad yesterday, ‘bout who I wanted to be in the future, and I told ‘em, ‘I wanna help people!’ and they were like ‘That’s great!’ and we talked about that before bed. And then we ate pizza.” He kicks his legs, hitting the un-occupied seat in front of him. “But medicine is hard, so I dunno if I’ll be able to do it… But I wanna learn ‘bout it, anyway.”

“Helping people…” Lio murmurs, a finger to his chin. “Then, how about being a firefighter? They rescue people.”

Galo glances at him and then hums loudly. “Mmmmmaybe.” He replies after a while, but his face still looks a little sour as he brings his arms behind his head. “Mom and dad said that too, but all firefighters do nowadays is take out Burnish, n’ that’s just kinda… Y’know.” He shrugs.

“...I know.”

“Oh! And if I become a doctor--” Perks up Galo, snapping his fingers in Lio’s direction. “I can get to heal ya. You wouldn't have to visit a doctor ‘cuz I’d be right there!”

“That’s…” Lio frowns. “Really nice, but Galo, but why do all your ideas about jobs involve _ me _?”

“‘Cuz you actually got me to seriously think ‘bout ‘em! Duh!”

He’s not sure if that’s a proper answer or not, so Lio just blinks and sighs. “How’d it go over with your mum, anyway?”

“Oh, yeah.” He scratches his head at the change of subject. “Mom’s thinkin’ of movin’ me to a different school. N’ changing her job, too.”

“What? Really?” Lio asks, with maybe a little bit too much enthusiasm in his voice.

“Mm.” Galo nods, leaning back in his seat. “I told her about the guys I fought with, n’ decided right then n’ there. She’s gonna sue the guys’ parents _ personally _.”

“Wha--Can’t she just like, e-mail them? Call them?”

“That’s what dad said! But mom just dragged ‘im out this morning and told ‘im they’re drivin’ aaaaall the way to Kentucky so she can kick the parents’ butts.”

"Why Kentucky...!?"

"After mom called 'em, the parents of one guy drove for a holiday, I guess? And now mom's after 'em to take revenge."

“I think I see who you take after.”

“So yeah, I left early to do some stuff for your B-day, it took a while ‘cuz I couldn’t find the right stores, so that’s why I was late.”

“You weren’t late.” Lio shakes his head. “You just said to not eat too much today.”

“Oh, yeah! Did you?”

“No.”

“Good!” Galo grins.

Lio stares at it for a long moment before he any other thought than ‘_ His smile is beautiful. _’ appears in his mind.

“When I grow up…” Lio begins, gazing up at his own fringe as Galo waits eagerly for his answer. “...I want to be Robin Hood.”

Galo’s smile falls. “What.” He says. “Like the one from Shrek?”

“No, the one he was based on, you dummy.”

He receives a punch in the shoulder, but Lio just smirks. “And you said _ I _ was being unrealistic for not wantin’ a job!”

”Like you said. Jobs suck, anyway.”

“You do remember Robin Hood is a wanted criminal, milord?” Engel speaks up from the driver seat.

“I do. I’m ready to take the responsibility.”

Galo deadpans at him. “Lio, that’s prison.”

“Only if you let it be.”

“That’s true.” Engel defends him, and if his eyes weren’t glued to the road, Lio would’ve given him a fist bump him.

Galo sighs at his side. “You were afraid of cops just a few days ago…!”

This time, Lio’s the one to elbow Galo in the side playfully. “Amazing what a few days with you can do to change my mind, huh, Galo?”

And the boy gives him this sort of weird look; he’s not smiling but he doesn’t seem upset. Confused, and then knowing.

The smile that suddenly appears on his face with a huff of laughter gives Lio a sense of accomplishment, and he’s not sure if that feeling belongs to him, Galo, or the two of them together.

“We’re nearing the city.” Engel interrupts.

“Eh? Already?” Galo exclaims as he blinks himself out of whatever reverie he was in.

“This is a car, not a bike, so of course we got here fast.”

“Man, this is _ great _!” Cheers Galo, shooting his fists in the air. “Lio, let’s have a lotta fun today!”

Lio nods, and when Galo holds out his hand, Lio high-fives it, and then intertwines his fingers with Galo’s. And to his own credit, he gets a lot less flustered than Galo, who starts flailing his free arm around the car and accidentally hits it on the door handle.

He swears he can see Engel’s smirk in the backseat mirror, though. He doesn’t know what’s up with that.

  
  


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Galo directed Engel to a particular park near the centre, and dropped the boys off there, after struggling to find a parking space for a while. “That’s the one con of living in a city, I suppose…” He murmurs as he turns the wheel and Galo nods affirmatively.

Once they find a spot and get out, Engel kneels in front of the children. “Alright, you two go play wherever you want, now--I’ll be around. If you need anything, Young Galo here can give me a call whenever.”

“Okay.” “Got it!”

“Have a fun day! And remember, milord--” He taps at his wrist, tapping at his figurative watch. “Curfew at six! So arrive here a bit before then.”

“I will.” Lio nods and Galo’s already bouncing, tugging at the other boy’s hand so they can get going already.

“Yeah yeah yeah--Let’s go, let’s go!” He rushes him and Lio giggles as he lets Galo lead him, waving at Engel as they jog away.

“Where are we going first?” Lio asks after Galo slows his pace.

And Galo does this obnoxious laugh again, like he’s about to blow Lio’s mind with what he’s about to say as he turns his head just enough so he can see him. “You like dogs, right?”

The small gasp that escapes Lio surprises even him, and Galo’s smile only gets wider as he quickens his pace, and the younger boy’s excitement motivates him to run, as well.

What comes out of his mouth next is probably Lio’s mind for the rest of the day.

“_ Dog. _”

“Yep!”

Not just one dog. _ All _ of the dogs.

Breeds that Lio recognizes and ones that he doesn’t, small and big, on a leash and not, of various colours, are running around the area with mirth as their owners watch on.

“A dog park!” Galo announces, throwing his hands into the air. “Ya like dogs, yeah? So here ya go!”

Lio’s already starting to bounce uncontrollably and grabs Galo by the hand once again.

“Let’s go.”

Galo laughs and lets Lio drag him into the park. “Any dogs give you trouble, lemme know!” He points to himself with his thumb. “I’ll take the heat off of ya!”

Lio huffs amusedly at that. “I don’t think we’ll need it, but thanks.”

“Hey, ya never know,” He ruffles his hair. “With how small you are!”

  
  


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“_ How, _”

Lio smirks from his makeshift throne of giant dogs, laying against their soft fur as one of his hands occupies itself with petting one of the dalmatians by his feet. “I told you.” He says with a quirk from his eyebrow, watching in amusement as Galo sits on his knees in front of the boy, like he’s one of Lio’s subjects.

“You’ve _ seen _ Cerberus and I in the same picture.” He says, unimpressed. He feels like a king, this is _ great _! “And you know I go to contests with dogs often. This is nothing.”

“Man, you look like one of those dragon tamers in movies.” Galo says as he begins to pat a labrador who had come to nose at his hair. “Except instead of dragons, you got a dog of every breed.” He then stops his motions as he glances back at Lio and gets a weird, wide smile on his face. “This is somehow just as updog…!”

“Updog?” Lio tilts his head. “What is updog?”

Galo snickers. “Not much--What’s up with _ you _!?”

And as Galo points at him with a big, toothy smile, one of the dogs Lio is leaning against whines and he pats it to soothe it.

“Y-” The older boy stutters, his outstretched arm shaking now. “Y’know? Updog? What’s up?”

“I’m not a dog,” His eyebrow quirks up. “Much less whatever an ‘updog’ is.”

“No, it’s like, slang?” Galo scratches behind his head as he explains. “‘Dog’ means like, ‘friend’ or ‘bro’ or ‘homie’.”

The younger boy squints at that, and relays the conversation. He whispers parts of what he and Galo said to himself, and then it hits him.

“Oh!” He perks up, and he sees one ear of a rather large dog next to him twitch. “_ Ooooh _, I think I get it!” He nods and smiles, “I like that!”

“Oh! Cool!” Galo immediately cheers up once he sees Lio’s enthusiasm and wipes at his brow. “Well, I thought I could meme on ya, but at least I taught you somethin’ new today!”

“Mhm.” He nods before pausing, and a light bulb flashes in his mind as he puts one of his arms on the German Shepherd next to him and puts his cheek on the back of his hand. “It’s almost like…” He closes his eyes. “...An updog passed through here, isn’t it?”

He hears Galo snort. “What is updog?” He replies, almost completely monotone, save for a little bit of amusement in his voice.

“Not much,” He snaps his fingers towards Galo. “What’s up with _ you _?”

“Awwwwww, _ man _ !” The older boy slaps his knees and falls over on the grass with over exaggerated flair. “Ya _ got _ me!” He adds with another slap on the ground, and starts laughing as the labrador from earlier leans over him and starts licking at his face. Meanwhile, Lio snickers triumphantly.

“Barry is big enough that you can ride on him, right?” Galo asks after he’s recovered from his utter defeat and sat himself by Lio’s side, among the herd of dogs. It might be Lio’s throne, but Galo may as well rule with him, too.

“Yeah.”

“Man, you’re like… a Disney princess. Or prince, I guess. You’re so good with animals!”

“I guess… well.” He looks off to the side and cringes. “Except birds.”

“Oh yeah, I was wondering about that!” He lets the dalmatian he was petting go and brings all his focus on Lio. “What’s with you n’ birds?”

Lio sideyes the other boy and gives him a death glare. “There’s nothing between me and them. They’re just jerks.”

“No, they ain’t! They’re just stupid! And poop on cars a lot! And steal food--Yeah, you know what, on second thought,” He crosses his arms, “Birds _ are _ jerks. But like, why did ya run like crazy when you saw the bird yesterday, back at the pet store?”

He gives Lio a quizzical look and he can’t really refuse him, so the younger boy sighs and steels himself. He doesn’t think he’s told anyone this story, either. It’s a bit scary how much he’s willing to tell Galo, but it’s not like he’s complaining, since Galo doesn’t.

Lio leans against a big fluffy dog, using it as a pillow--Galo doing the same--as he takes an unpleasant trip on memory lane. ”One time, when I was younger, my window was left open during the night, and an owl flew in.” He begins, staring up at the branches of the tree they were under. “I was so scared I ran around and threw my stuff at it--clothes, pencils, even my stuffed animals. He actually caught one of them and carried it in his beak and I just got more scared.” Poor Simon. He didn’t deserve to have his arm ripped off. Sure, it’s stitched back on now, but the image of stuffing where his hand should be still haunts Lio. “And the owl and I kept screaming at each other until somebody came in to see what was happening and chased it out with a broom.”

“Woah.” Galo says.

“And then, on my birthday,” He continues, “They hired a bird mascot for the party and I hid in my room and closed the windows until the lady took off the costume, because I was afraid she was gonna take out all my presents and rip them right in front of me.”

“Man, no wonder you’re scared of birds.” Galo says once Lio finishes, his eyes wide. “If I were you, I’d throw my shoe at every bird I saw from now on!”

“I’m not gonna hurt them!” Lio shouts, startling one of the poodle’s awake, and he pets it as an apology, watching its eyes slowly droop once more. “Birds are just trying to live, like me. Yes, I’m scared of them, but I’m not going to hurt them just because I think they’re scary. They leave me alone, I leave them alone.”

In fact, Lio thinks, he’s less scared of bugs than he is of birds, now, thanks to Galo. Funny how eating a grasshopper whole can help you in life.

“Yeah, I guess the owl was just as scared as you, huh?” Galo nods, his face in a concentrated pout. “And it ain’t like the owl can tell every other bird on the planet about you.”

“They kind of can, though.”

“They can? Then I guess you _ do _ have a reason to be scared!” Galo laughs and Lio freezes.

He imagines a bird council meeting, discussing the wanted men of the Earth, and his face showing up in a high-tech screen display, his face the biggest one shown on it, and a big bird-money bounty under it.

He turns away from him completely and hangs his head.

“Guess I do.” He grits out through his clenched teeth. “Thanks.”

Galo notices Lio’s reaction and immediately stops petting the dog as his hands instead go up to flail around Lio’s visage, trying to comfort him without touching him. “W-Wait, no, I-I didn’t mean it like that--!”

Lio pouts and turns his head away everytime Galo tries to get a look at him, crawling on all fours and whining at him. This goes on for a couple of minutes until Galo is reduced to complete needy puppy mode and lays down on Lio’s knees, and the younger boy finally looks down at Galo’s guilt-ridden face.

He sighs and starts patting Galo’s head, to the boy’s surprise, but doesn’t push his hand away, and just curls up further as his eyes focus on the grass.

His hair, despite being spiky and dangerous-looking, is soft and pleasant to the touch, like a hedgehog’s body when it is not alert. Lio huffs out a laugh and Galo spares a glance up at him before quickly burying his face back into the fabric of Lio’s shorts.

  
  


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Before they leave the park, Lio pats every dog he’s managed to win the heart of in the past half an hour or so, and feels a sense of pride and satisfaction as he sees the owner’s eyes with a glint of jealousy in them when they saw how their pets were extremely adamant on not parting with the boy.

“I think you just became God Dog.” Galo marvels as they walk away, before he shakes his head. “I mean Dog God.”

“Implying I wasn’t before?”

“Man, you’re right. You’re so powerful, dude!” Galo beams at him with shining eyes and Lio readjusts his bangs, both out of pride and shyness from the praise.

“All these dogs had cute names.” He comments, thinking back to the older people calling out for their dogs. “Mary, Brown, Lucky, Hewie… Makes me think where my parents got ‘Cerberus’ from.”

“I think it’s from Greek mythology? I remember that name from history class.” The older boy tilts his head to the side. “Cer-bear-us is a big, three-headed pupper from Hell--or like, kinda Hell?” He explains, but it's more like he’s questioning his own memory as well. Lio can’t blame him, History’s boring. “I dunno much about it, but it’s cool!”

“A puppy from hell… But Cerberus is so sweet.” He scratches at his cheek. “Why’d they name him that?”

“I dunno, why’d your parents name you ‘Lio’?”

He smacks his lips in annoyance. “I don’t know, _ Galo _ . Why’d your parents name you _ ‘Galo’ _?”

"They didn't. I picked it myself." The taller boy crosses his arms behind his head. "And also 'cuz 'Galahad' was a mouthful and then dad said 'you can just shorten it to Galo' and I liked it, so I stuck with it!"

At that, Lio blinked. “‘Galahad’? Like the knight?”

“Knight? What knight? I just looked found it on some site n' thought it sounded cool."

That’s odd. Galo knew about Cerberus but not the Knights of the Round Table?

Wait. This is a great opportunity!

“Oh!” Lio exclaims with a bounce in his step. “I can teach you about some British mythology, for once!”

“Huh?” Galo however, scrunches up his brow. “Britain has mythology?” He says, like Britain wasn’t a real country or something. Lio pouts, offended. Sure, he wasn’t even born in Britain, but he’s still offended!

“Everything has mythology, Galo.” He rolls his eyes. “Not just Japan.”

“But Japan’s is the cooleeeeeest!” He whines and the shorter pats him on the head, appeasing him.

“Yes, yes.” He sighs, before he takes a breath and starts. “Galahad was one of the Knights of the Round Table, who served King Arthur. He was known to be the best, most chivalrous knight of all time.”

“Woah. But aren’t there a bunch of round tables? What was so special about it? And who’s King Arthur?”

Lio swiftly plants his hand on Galo’s face, silencing him. “One at a time!” He says, and Galo lets out an annoyed ‘mmpf’ but nods, so the shorter boy retracts his hand. “But yeah, I don’t know what was so special about that table, either. As for King Arthur…” He waves his finger around as he recalls his past classes. “He was the legendary king of Britain, who had a sword called Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake.” Lio goes on, getting more into his story. “He also pulled out a sword from a stone!”

_ That _gets Galo’s attention, and he pumps his fists in excitement. “That’s metal!”

“No, steel. It’s a sword.”

“Wait, swords aren’t made from metal?”

“You know what’s made from metal?” He deadpans and bonks the older boy on the head. “Your head. That’s why it’s so heavy and dull.”

“Ow.” Galo says as he squeezes his eyes, but it sounds pretty monotone, so Lio guesses he’s just saying ‘ow’ for the sake of it and that it didn’t really hurt. Then, he grabs Lio’s arm and pulls it away so he can look the other child in the eyes. “Oh!” He exclaims, like he just had a revelation. “You’re sayin’ metal swords weren’t a thing ‘cuz they were too heavy to carry around!”

“Yup.”

“I got it!” He beams, and this time, when Lio’s head comes up to pat him for the right answer like a proud teacher, he giggles and scratches at his nose adorably. “We have a lake around here, actually.” Galo changes the topic. “‘s all frozen, though, and it’s off-limits.”

Lio retracts his hand at the information, but continues looking up at the other boy. “Is there something there or is it just dangerous?”

“I ‘unno.” He shrugs, his hands in the pockets of his pants. “Maybe the Lady of the Lake is there!”

“That’d explain it…! Should we go there?”

“Dad said there are drones that will shoot lasers at you if you try to go there. And like,” He squints. “I can never tell when he’s kidding, so I’d rather not?”

“Probably the best choice.” The younger puts a finger to his chin in thought, and nods. “We should break in there when we have the right equipment.”

“Yeah!” Galo grins bright and optimistic before it falls just as quick as it came, interrupted by his sigh. “Man, now I _ wish _ I was named Galahad! Think people will believe me if I tell ‘em ‘Galo’ is just a nickname?”

Lio tilts his head up at him quizzically. “But I like your name.”

Galo nearly trips, and when he regains his stance, his walking seems a little stiff. “I-I meant--!” He chuckles out, hands on his hips and head high. “I could tell ‘em that as a prank! Haha! Ha~!”

Lio shakes his head. “Knights are beautiful.” He says, with fondness in his voice. “If they still existed, I’d like to be one.”

“Security guards exist.”

“It’s not the same…” Lio sighs and crosses his arms. “No shiny armor or swords to polish, or cool rides.”

“You can’t even ride a bike, though.”

“B-Because you still haven’t taught me, you dunce!” He yells, and points at him in retaliation. “Next year, I’ll bring Cerberus, and then I’ll show you top-tier dogback riding!”

Galo stares at the hand pointed at him before (uncharacteristically) politely pushes it to the side with the back of his hand. “Did you just replace ‘horseback’ with ‘dogback’?”

“Got a problem with it?” He near-whispers his threat, but the other boy only reacts with a smirk.

“Heck no! That’s _ awesome _!” Galo spurs on Lio’s dumb idea unconditionally, and the latter’s heart warms. “We can try jousting on him! Knock off cans n’ stuff!”

Lio takes a step forward and smooshes Galo's cheeks together. “Galo Feh-mos.” He says, with utmost seriousness both in his expression and his voice. “You, are a _ genius _.”

Galo seems a bit starstruck before he grins and grabs Lio’s hands back, hovering them only a small distance away from his face just so he can speak, and his smile be even wider (to blind Lio, probably, the sly bugger.) “All in a day's work of your most loyal knight, Prince-Knight Lio!”

The title sounds so stupid, but so perfect to Lio that he can’t help but giggle.

And then a small splash of water comes down on them.

They blink up at each other in utter confusion before whipping their heads to the side to see--the lovebirds from the other day! The one Galo splashed water on!

The man has one of his hand outstretched, so he was most likely cupping a small amount of water in it, and Lio just notices they’re passing by the giant fountain they made a wish on the other day. His girlfriend has her arm around his and visibly trying to hold back her giggles, while simultaneously looking like she feels bad about interrupting their moment.

“Sorry boys, payback.” The teenaged boy smirks and waves his wet hand at them.

Lio is about to say something, maybe an insult or a threat, but Galo beats him to it as he growls and starts sliding his backpack off. “Hey!” He yells. “I got a water bottle and I ain’t afraid to use it!”

The teal haired teen takes it as (the right) cue to leave and grabs the girl by the hand before they start jogging away. “Linda, let’s go!” He says, but he’s still smiling as he turns her way and she nods.

Before they skedaddle, however, the blonde lady turns her head towards them, yells “Have a nice date!”, and then they’re out of sight.

Lio's eyes widen.

Wait, ‘date’?

Lio puts his hand to his chin. He hasn’t ever seen a date; he doesn’t think his parents have ever been on a real one in years, if their servant’s hushed rumors and gossip is anything to go by, and they never do anything ‘date-y’ with each other in the comfort of their home, either. But from what Lio’s read and watched, a date it going to places, eating together, holding hands, kissing the other after they walk you home…

Hm.

“Yeah, you better run!” Galo shouts after the couple as they laugh and scuttle away. He looks like he’s about to run after them, but Lio swiftly grabs his hand.

“Galo,” Lio looks up at him. “Are we on a date?”

“Dah--” Galo says, and his frown, formed in order to scare off the couple, slowly turns into a confused squint, and then, into an all-out tomato-red, flustered mess, almost like he’s about to burst into tears. The shaking of his arm in Lio’s grip only supports that theory. “D-D-D-Da…?”

“I mean…” Lio continues, looking up, figuring that if Galo wasn’t going to give a proper response, he might as well go on. “When two people date, they go to various spots together, like the city, eat food and hold hands, right? And we do that a lot. Especially a few days ago.” Even if Engel was with them on Wednesday… It still felt special to Lio.

Have they been dating this whole time?

“I…” Galo finally gets out, before he starts freaking out, his face switching between smiling and frowning, voice rising and lowering in pitch as he does. And of course, can’t forget his arm flailing. “I-I-I-I MEAN, NO?? IF YOU WANT TO I DON’T MIND BUT IT’S WHATEVER YOU WANT IT TO BE MAN I DON’T MIND IT I MEAN YOU’RE COOL AND ALL AND YOU’RE ALREADY HOLDING MY HAND KINDA WELL NOT REALLY AND ITS REALLY SOFT AND YOU’RE REALLY NICE AND PRETTY AND HAHAHAHA--”

Lio slides his hand from Galo’s wrist to his palm and squeezes it, smiling. “It’s a date, then.”

Galo immediately stops his nonsense-spouting and completely freezes mid-rant, mouth open and stuck in a stupid smile.

“Well?” He urges him, tugging on his hand. “Let’s go.” And turns away.

“Ha,” Galo squeaks out, like it involuntarily escaped his throat, and slowly starts dragging his feet in Lio’s direction. “はい…”

Lio rolls his eyes and smiles to himself. Galo’s so dumb. So dumb, but so cute, he can’t help but forgive him, even if he can’t say what he wants to say sometimes.

He’s having so many firsts with Galo, after all--including a date with a friend.

  
  


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“Galo?”

“Y-Yeah?”

“You haven’t said anything for the past five minutes or so. Are you okay?”

“Uhh.”

Apparently not. It took walking around aimlessly for a good while before Lio realized he has no idea where he’s going, and that Galo had just been silent, letting the boy drag him around as he window-shopped in the meantime. 

“Sure?? Yeah! Just kinda--” Galo slaps himself in the cheek, instantly regretting it, and massaging it with a nervous smile. “Zoned out there! Haha!”

Lio still doesn’t quite believe him, but decides to let it go for now. “So, where did you want to go next?”

“Oh, right! Uh…” Galo finally picks up his pace so he and Lio can walk side-by-side as he thinks back. “Where… _ did _I plan for us to go next…?”

“I’m fine with wherever you take me, you know.” He assures him while squeezing his hand, and he thinks he felt Galo twitch a little. “Anywhere’s good with you.”

Galo looks down at him, a lost look in his eyes and a small red to his cheeks, before he scratches at his cheek with a sheepish smile and reciprocates Lio’s gesture. “Mhm!” He nods strongly. “Ah! I remember! I wanted to take you to a--”

A blaring siren, so loud that Lio has to let go of Galo and cover his ears, rings out.

“_ Attention to all citizens. _ ” A female voice, slightly distorted by static, announces from a speaker that neither of the boys can see. “ _ Burnish activity has been detected in the area. Please keep calm and evacuate the area near... _”

‘_ Burnish _…?’ Lio only thinks to himself, as he doubts Galo could hear him even if he shouted right now. Nevertheless, he feels two hands land on top of his and sees Galo with his eyes squeezed shut and face sour, trying to further block off the noise for Lio while having to listen to the loud sirens himself.

_ ‘Oh, heck no.’ _ Lio thinks as he pulls his own hands away from his ears and puts them on Galo’s instead, and blue, determined eyes open and stare back at him. He grins. It’s shaky, but it’s clear he’s forcing it from how he’s slightly shaking, and Lio does his best to return the smile.

They stay like that until the sirens wear off and let out a simultaneous “Phew…”, letting their hands slide off of their ears and instead land on each other’s shoulders.

“Should we leave…?” Lio speaks up first, looking around frantically for any sign of fire or panic. Some people were rushing to and fro, but it didn’t seem any different than usual. Not that he’d know, he’s not from around here, but still…

“They didn’t say anythin’ like, _ ‘Burnish have been sighted in the area, seek shelter immediately,’ _” Galo imitates the speaker lady in a slightly mocking voice, “So we don’t gotta run or anythin’, but yeah, we should still prob’ stay away from there.”

“Okay.” Lio nods and steps away a little, “So, where to no--”

Lio’s interrupted, this time in a very physical and--if he's being honest, pretty painful--way, in the form of another person running straight into him and knocking him into the sidewalk.

He hits the ground with a loud groan, but the person that knocked into him didn’t seem to be faring any better, if her teary face as she was getting up was anything to go by.

“Omigosh, I’m _ so _ sorry! Uh, here,” The girl with pink hair, held together in twintails by golden scrunchies, brushes off her shorts and slightly-bruised knees, extending a hand to Lio. “Are you okay?”

“Um…I think so…?” He hesitates for a moment, his hand hovering uselessly in the air as he looked back frantically between it and the girl, but after seeing the genuine worry in her eyes, he let her take it and pull him up. “Thank you...” And after Lio stands and looks up, he realizes how _ tall _ the girl is. Okay, not _ that _ tall, but she’s about Galo’s height, and for Lio, that’s pretty tall. So he guesses she’s about his age, if not older.

Speaking of Galo, he suddenly barrels himself into Lio’s side, effectively breaking the handshake between the boy and girl and wraps his arms around his small frame. “Hey, watch where you’re goin’! Ya could’ve hurt ‘im!” Galo near-shouts at the child, and Lio’s far too distracted by his embrace to chide him.

The girl responds by stomping her foot, and Lio gets a glimpse at her (in his opinion) rather fashionable kicks. “I said I’m sorry! Geez!” Her cheeks puff up in a pout, then recede as she hiccups and wipes at her face with her wrist.

Lio finally puts his hands on Galo’s, and is if on command, they loosen so his voice isn’t blocked by them as he speaks. “Are…_ you _ okay?” He asks, stepping closer to the third party.

Galo quirks an eyebrow at his companion before taking a closer look, and changes his mindset from ‘protective mother hen’ to ‘worried mother hen’ at the drop of a hat (Lio is reminded of Cerberus once more, and how he growls at Lio’s cousins until they start crying and he comes up to lick at their face as an apology) as he walks over to the girl. “Oh, yeah, you don’t look so good.” He bluntly points out, hands extending to help her. “You good?”

“Huh?” The girl looks between the two boys, blinking rapidly before she starts fiddling with strands of her loose hair. “Y-Yeah, I’m okay… I was near where the fire was, so I ran without really looking where I was going…”

“Whaaa? All the way from downtown?” Gapes Galo. “But that was announced like, a minute ago!”

The girl flexes her arm and pushes its sleeve back with her other as she puffs out her chest. “I’m a fast runner!”

“Cool…!” Galo’s eyes are shining, and Lio feels something tug at his chest. But isn’t he always happy to see Galo like this? What’s going on? Why does he feel so… so…?

Lio ‘tsk’s and steps closer to the other boy, wrapping his hands around his left arm as he glares daggers at the girl.

She frowns in response and tilts her head. “What’s with the kid?”

“Oh, Lio’s just shy with strangers!” Galo laughs and lifts his arm enough so he can grab Lio’s hand, and the foreign feeling in his chest simmers down, just a tad.

“Don’t tell her my name, stupid.” He still mumbles, because the feeling is only a _ little _ gone.

Galo’s about to say something, but is interrupted by a loud buzzing and an even louder, muffled anime opening song. He sticks his hand into his pocket to fish out his phone and lets out a quick ‘ah!’ before he quickly answers the call. “Hello, Mister Engel?” He says, and Lio quickly tries to listen in on the conversation, but due to the commotion around them and sounds of traffic, he can only barely make out Engel’s worried tone of voice. “Yeah, we’re okay! We’re far from there.” Galo says, and nods a little more, humming affirmatively.

Lio pouts and looks away, doing a double take when his sights set on the girl again. She’s frantically searching through her own phone (it has a cute design--pink and glitter all over it, and Lio barely recognizes it as a phone from this angle. It looks like a purse), eyes scanning whatever’s on the screen before sighing and putting it back in her pocket, crossing her arms.

Lio blinks and lets go of his grip on Galo as he keeps talking, instead stepping into the girl’s personal space. She seems to be spacing out, because it takes her a good couple of seconds to notice that the boy had come _ incredibly _ close to her and jumps back.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, glancing at her pocketed mobile, and she recovers from her guarding stance to rub at her arm sheepishly.

“Um…” She starts, looking off to the side. “I… tried calling my mom and dad… But they still haven’t replied. I think they’re too busy at work, still.”

“Do you have anyone else to call?” 

“I… Have my sister, I guess, but I don’t want to bother her--”

“Call her.” He interrupts. “You’re family, right? She should look out for you.”

‘_ Unlike my parents. You have a normal life. Be happy you have it.’ _ He says internally, with only a spike of jealousy.

She looks at Lio and blinks, stunned, before she places her hand on her pocket, as if contemplating it. She then nods. “Okay.”

Lio smiles--completely involuntarily, thank you very much.

“FanFARE Pizza, then!” Galo’s conversation over the phone reaches Lio’s ears once more, and he turns around. “Okay, see ya there!”

Lio quickly runs up to Galo and stands on his tippy toes. “Tell him I said ‘hello.’”

“Lio says ‘hello’!” Galo smiles and fulfills his request. “Mister Engel says ‘hi’!”

Lio beams.

After he hangs up, he shifts his attention to Lio with hands on his hips. “I told Mister Engel to meet us at this cool pizza place me and my parents go to!” The older boy explains and points behind him. “Let’s go, Lio!”

“Mm.” Lio nods and turns to the girl, who’s looking between the two of them, looking very out of place.

This time, Lio’s next words come out of his own volition as he smirks.

“You’re coming with us.”

“Huh?”

  
  


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“Oh, you meant like. ‘You’re coming with us to get pizza’, not ‘We’re gonna beat you to death’.”

“Yeah, I’m not very good at speaking my mind yet.”

“You’ll get there! Just keep at it!” The girl grins. “No, really, I was afraid you two were gonna drag me into the river or something, please work on it.”

“S-sorry. My family has a dark sense of humor.”

“That explains it…”

The three children, now walking together, were skipping to the destination Galo was leading them to, passing by, well, passer-bys as they did. The chaos seems to have gradually subsided, and the only panic Lio saw was from men in suits frantically running through traffic. So right now, the kids were free of worry, chatting away as they walked.

Or, well, two of them were.

“Galo,” Lio calls out to the boy in front of him, who was busy stuffing his hands in his pockets and stomping more than walking along the sidewalk. Galo visibly flinches.

“We’re almost there!” He turns back for a moment with a smile, and swings his head back around just as quickly. Lio cocks his head in confusion, but takes it as a sort of ‘go ahead’ for Lio to… _ socialize _. Oh no.

With a gulp, he turns back to the girl. “So… did you call your sister?”

“I sent her a text.” She answers. “She needs to take the train ‘cuz she’s got after school lessons in summer school, but she said she’ll get here as fast as she can!”

Lio’s smile (when did that get there?) dissipates as he hears the words ‘summer’ and ‘school’ in the same sentence. “Isn’t summer supposed to be for _ vacation _…? Even he--” The boy nods in Galo’s direction. “--got in a summer sports class.”

“My sis is really smart! She’s gonna become a scientist one day!”

“A scientist…?”

“Mhm!” She nods, and starts skipping along with colored cheeks. “I don’t really get it, but she’s really cool and helps me with homework I don’t get! I love her so much!”

The smile on her face makes the girl’s cheeks puff up and her twintails bounce with her every skip.

‘_ It must be nice.’ _ Lio thinks. _ ‘To love your family that much.’ _

Lio shakes his head. He’s already dropped his life story on Galo, he doesn’t need to spill to a complete stranger. So instead, he returns the smile and nods. “That’s good.”

The other child giggles. Taking that as the end of the conversation (he slides his hand under his bangs to wipe at his forehead a little in relief), Lio turns to Galo and he could’ve _ sworn _ that he was just looking over here. The heck?

Before he can call out to him, though, the boy stops.

“We here!” He announces, arms wide, and, sure enough, a rather humble parlor with tables draped in red and white table cloths stands before them, ‘FanFARE Pizza’ in red, white and green letters engraved in the wooden sign above the door.

Lio lets out a quiet ‘woaaah…’ at the sight. He’s never been to a place like this… He’s heard his servants chattering at the end of their shifts about going out to get some pizza, but any leftovers that Lio had made the attempts to snatch were promptly thrown away. ‘_ Too much grease is bad for your figure, Lio. _’ His father declared, patting him on the head before calling the servant responsible and having him throw it out himself, sadly watching it drop into the trash bin with sheer despair in his eyes. He could feel the butler's sorrow at wasted food all the way from the doorway. 

This time, though, there are no adults here to stop him now.

"Master Lio! Young master Galo!"

And the only adult present is his enabler.

"Engel!" "Mister Engel!" The two boys shout in delight and run up to the man, who had kneeled and stretched out his arms to them, like he was waiting for a hug, but opted to just put his hands on their heads once he realized they weren't coming any closer.

"I was so worried… I cannot tell you how relieved I am to see you two safe and sound!" He ruffles both their hair, causing them to whine, and Engel smiles. It's a soft smile, one that Engel makes whenever he sees Lio again after a long period of time (he wasn't smiling when Lio returned from his first meeting with Galo, but to be fair, he had wandered off without telling anybody, so that was an exception and should not be counted). "As well as…" Engel looks up and past them, blinking in surprise. "Pardon me, I do not think we've met."

The boys turn just in time to see the pink-haired girl flinch and look around frantically, a hand coming up to play with one of her bracelets. "I-I can't--I don't tell my name to strangers." She corrects herself, and Lio sort of recognizes the behaviour from mum's clients' kids, where he talked with them in the salon but not really, where he tried to chat with them but they turned away in a huff, where both their parents said _ 'Talk to each other! But, you know, not too much.' _

Not the exact wording they used, but that's all Lio can hear nowadays.

Engel isn't offended, however. (He's used to bratty behavior. He has to deal with Lio on a daily basis, as well as his even brattier parents, after all) and chuckles as he retrieves his hands to wave dismissively. "Perfectly understandable. Nonetheless, thank you for keeping these kids company, young lady. Do stay a while for the food."

She puts her hands up defensively in front of her. "I-It's nothing, really--"

But Engel was already switching his attention to Galo, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Shall we make the order? I'll pay for you."

"Really!?" Beams Galo, already skipping along to the inside of the parlor. "I wanna get us a large!"

"Of course you do."

And so, Lio was left with the girl once again.

Okay, Galo and Engel will be back _ very _ soon. He just has to keep the conversation going for a little while longer.

"That table over there looks good." The girl beats him to the punch and points to one of the outdoors tables.

Good work, Lio.

He nods and follows her to the table. He has a bit of trouble getting on the wooden chair, but he manages somehow.

"Was that your dad?" The other child asks once they’re settled in.

_ 'Oh, I wish.' _"No, my butler."

"Really!?” She shouts and slams her hands on the table, startling the boy a little. “Wow, you must be rich!"

He puts his hands on his knees and fidgets. "I guess…"

"How's it like having a butler?"

"I don't know.” He deadpans. “What's it like _ not _ having a butler?"

“Huh? How am I supposed to answer that?”

“Then how am I going to tell you what it’s like _ not _ to have a butler?”

The girl looks like she’s about to say something, but then hesitates, awkwardly looking off to the side.

Lio crosses his arms. “Not so easy, is it?”

“No, but…” She twirls her hair around her finger. “I dunno, I’ve only seen butlers n’ stuff on TV. Seeing them in real life is so sick, I can’t help but get excited, you know!?”

Lio blinks, slinking back in his seat a bit. “I think it’s the opposite, for me.” He looks down at the table, and sees the other child tilt her head at his words. He takes it as a cue for him to go on. “I’ve never really done… ‘normal’ people stuff before. I’ve never bought things at stores or gone to the arcade or a Kay-Eff-See. At least…” He recalls the feel of a hand just as small as his tugging him along, pointing to their next destination with a wide, toothy, sunshine grin, and Lio smiles. “Until I met Galo.”

“Galo’s the kid you’re with, right? The weird blue mohawk?”

“Mm.” He nods. “He’s taught me a lot of stuff that for people like you--no offense--are things that happen everyday and you don’t even think about it. But for me, it was like a whole new world.” His smile gets even wider, and he can’t stop it, he doesn’t _ want _ to stop it. He’s aware that he’s showing his smile--something very precious--to a kid he doesn’t know the name of, but he can’t help but share his happiness when he’s around Galo. It’s contagious in the best way. It’s soothing.

It’s a flame that warms his frozen heart.

“I’m happy he showed it to me. And that I met him.”

The girl, who had been keenly listening to the boy with her jaw slightly agape, blinks before she near-whispers. “Lio, do you like Galo?”

“Of course.” He straightens up, confident and unswaying in his answer. “I’ve had a lot of fun this week, and it’s all thanks to him.”

“Okay, but,” She waves his arms around. “Like, like-like him?”

He squints. “Yes…?” Is this another part of American slang he doesn't know yet?

She suddenly squeals and shivers excitedly in her seat, causing Lio to jolt a little at the sudden change in mood. “Aaaaah, that’s so cuuuute! He seems like a cool guy, too! You’re so lucky!” She squeals. “He seemed kinda rude when we were going here, but if you say he’s nice, Lio, then he’s gotta be!”

‘Rude’? When was he…

Huh. Now that Lio recalls, Galo just kind of lead the way and never really tried to butt into their conversation. Did he feel like he was interrupting or something?

“He usually talks a lot.” Says Lio. “I think he just needs someone to show interest in listening to him.”

“Huh…” She puts her elbow on the table and leans on her hand. “You must be a really good listener.”

“No, I just like hearing him talk.”

“Wooooow… You’re smooth, too.”

Smooth? Like… He has a smooth, pretty-looking face?

Huh, that actually flusters him a little. He adjusts his bangs to distract himself. “Thank you.”

She giggles at his response and leans further on the table. “You’re pretty cute, Lio! I’m still kind of on the ice about being your friend, but you seem nice!”

Ouch. That kind of stings. “If we’re not friends, what are we?”

“Hmm…” The girl puts her finger to her chin and looks up, leaning back in her chair. “There was a word for this, I think? Like, a friend, but like, you’re just starting out on being friends? An ak… An accountaince…? Uh...?”

“Acquaintance?”

She slams her hand on the table and points at Lio with a wide smile. “Acquaintance--that’s it! I’m your acquaintance!” It fades just as quickly however, and she stands up straight in her seat as she collects herself and clears her throat. “You didn’t do anything bad… It’s just that I don’t really trust people easily. Sorry.” She bows her head, and Lio shakes his head with a smile.

“No, I understand.” And he really does. He may have jumped at the chance to talk with Galo, but he was still unwilling to truly call him his ‘friend’ until some more interaction. It’s hard for him to trust people, even relatives.

He wonders what it’s like to have your family members as your friends.

The girl looks up at him and gives him a small smile. “Thanks.” She brushes some hair out of her eyes. “Y’know, you’re pretty spry for a five-year old!”

“I’m nine.”

“Woah, really? But you’re so cute and short…!”

He pouts. “So what…? I’ll grow up soon.”

“I'm not saying you won't!” She grins, and leans in closer to him once more. “But yeah, you’re cute and really kind! So I was wondering--if I can be your acquaintance--”

The pizzeria’s door opens behind him.

“--Then maybe you could be mine, too!”

Lio perks up at the prospect of positive social interaction and is about to respond, but suddenly feels a pair of arms coiling around his neck and head, as well as a weight bump into his chair.

“You can’t have Lio! He’s _ mine _!”

The voice practically booms in Lio’s ear and he turns his head in a panic at the source, and almost immediately recognizes the blue, spiky strands of hair belonging to Galo.

Lio lets out a confused yelp, and blinks rapidly as he glances back at the girl to see her in the same shocked state as him. He pulls at the forearms around him and looks up at the other boy and sees an unusually angry, yet still determined expression on his face.

At this angle, it’s like he’s a brave knight, protecting Lio.

Lio’s heart thuds.

He must’ve felt Lio’s gaze on him, because Galo looks down, and once he notices the child’s surprise, his face loosens and he lets out a squawk as he jumps away.

“I-I mean--!” He starts, his gaze frantically switching between Lio and the girl, his hands flailing all over the place as he rambles. “L-L-Lio’s my friend! I was his first, so that mean I’m like his best friend! A _ friend _! That’s it! I was his first friend, not his b-b-boyf--”

The girl interrupts him by standing up on the chair and yelling, “Lio’s a _ BOY!?” _

  
  
  
  
  


“Lio…” He starts, after a short, deafening silence. “Is a _ boy’s _ name.”

“B-but--” She stutters, looking over Lio up and down frantically. “You’re so pretty! A-and your voice--!”

“Only nine, remember?”

The girl groans and starts tugging at her twintails. “Aaaagh, and I called you cute and everything…! This is so embarrassing! I thought you two were boyfriend and girlfriend!”

  
  
“HUH!?” Galo _ literally _ jumps in shock that time. Lio remains seated and calm, on the other hand, putting his finger on his chin.

“We’re not dating. Well…” He cocks his head to the side and frowns. “I guess we _ are _ on a date, but…”

“_ LIO-- _”

“Whaaa!? Really!? I’m eleven, but I still haven’t been on a single date!” Exclaims the girl and whines as she slides back on her chair. “Is my game _ that _ weak compared to a _ nine-year _ old…?”

“I-It’s okay!!” Galos turns to her, face still red as he gestures wildly. “I’m eleven too, but I just got my first date! I’m sure you’ll get one soon!” He thumps on his chest with his other hand on his hip, and Lio guesses he used too much force, because he coughs before he continues. “Believe in the me that believes in you!”

Lio blinks and deadpans. “...Wow, really, Galo?”

“Oh c’mon, man, let me have this one!” He stomps his foot as he turns back to Lio with a pout. A cute giggle interrupts them both, and their attention diverts to the older girl barely even trying to cover her mouth.

She wipes at a stray tear in her eye, blinking up at them. “You two are so in-sync! I’m jealous!”

“In…” He tilts his head, curious. “Sync?”

“Like, you two are… I dunno, alike? No, that’s not it…” She shakes her head and looks up, a finger to her chin in hard contemplation.

Before she can finish that thought, however, the door to the pizzeria opens once more, the bell chime signifying someone’s arrival. Turning back, Lio gasps as he sees Engel perfectly balancing a large tray, and he gasps _ again _ when he puts it down on the table, revealing the giant, cheesy, aromatic, _ delicious looking _ pizza.

The three children drool and awe at the sheer beauty of it.

“The baker here is shockingly quick with his orders.” Engel says as he dusts off his hands. “I think I like this establishment.”

Galo roughly hops on a vacant chair and claps his hands together with a huge grin on his face. “頂きまーす!” He announces before his hands shoot for the plate and peels of a slice of pizza. Lio watches the melting cheese separate from the rest and okay, he _ knows _ it is impolite to slobber over a table but he _ can’t help it _! It looks so good!! He hasn’t even tasted it, and yet!!!

The girl, compared to Galo who practically snatched a slice, takes her time peeling off her own share, and hums at Lio, gesturing towards the food as an invitation for him to take some, too.

Lio doesn’t quite grab one just yet, instead letting his hands hover over the pizza, uncertain and nervous, not knowing where to start. “I’ve only seen pizza like this on the telly…”

“And this is your great to chance to finally get one.” Engel butts in as he takes a seat and grabs a slice, putting it on a plastic plate (where did he get that from?) “I’m not the most confident in my pizza-making skills, to be quite honest. You just can’t get a good pizza pie without the right oven and tools.” He goes on, placing the plate in front of Lio, who just barely stops himself from kicking the underside of his chair in excitement. “Delicacies like this are best left to the experts.”

Lio perks up and claps excitedly, gently grabbing at the pizza with both hands like he sees the girl doing. He takes a bite

and instantly whines.

“Are you alright, milord?” Engel blinks down at him worriedly, and Lio nods.

“Ish sho hot.” He gets out, squinting down at the food. “But ish _ sho _ good…”

There’s a short silence as Lio sniffs and pants to get the heat out of his mouth. That’s what he gets for eating too fast. And then, the three other occupants of the table burst out into laughter.

It only takes him a second to start laughing along. Not at him, but _ with _ him.

The atmosphere is so light, so cheerful, so _ homey _ that Lio can’t help but keep laughing until he doesn’t know if the tears on his face are from the hot food or the absurdity of the revelation that this is his first real meal in which he felt _ welcome _ in.

Engel pats him on the head knowingly, as Lio continues nibbling on his, now slightly salty, pizza.

  
  


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“For a boy, you’re like, real lanky.” Says the girl, wiping her hands with one of the napkins provided on the table.

“I don’t get to get out much, but I want to change that.” Lio responds simply. “I want to start training--or at least, start walking outside more. And do kendo, since it doesn’t require running.” He adds, and out of the corner of his eye, he can see Galo beam at the fact he remembered his advice. He’s still gorging himself on the pizza, bless his soul.

“Nice!” She nods and puts away her slice before she claps her hands together. “Yknow what’s really good for arm strength? Archery!” She points out excitedly. “I think it would fit you! It needs form and precision n’ stuff! Also, archers are like, super hot.”

“Archery…” Lio tilts his head to the side. He has only seen glimpses of archers in history documentary movies, but now that he thinks about it… “That seems like it’d work.”

“Yay! Nice!” She perks up and does a little dance in her seat.

Galo, face full of crust, looks quickly between the two children and quickly gulps down his share, coughing slightly before he turns to Lio, face panicked and his arms outstretched towards him. “B-but you’re still gonna do kendo, right? Right!?” He insists, his hand managing to grab Lio’s, even if he had to kneel on his chair so he could manage the distance. Lio huffs and puts his other hand on Galo’s.

“Of course.” He smiles reassuringly. “Swords will make me more like a samurai, after all.”

“Yesss!” Galo pumps his fist triumphantly and goes back to flop in his chair.

“Um…” The girl suddenly speaks up, and the attention lands on her as the two boys and one man (who was in the middle of eating the crust Lio didn’t want) as she put her hands in her lap, somewhat shyly. “I don’t think I said this before, so…” She looks down at her lap before she looks up at the two boys once more with a soft smile. “Thanks for letting me come along, even if it meant messing up your date... It really cheered me up.” She sheepishly massages the back of her head. “You two are pretty awesome!”

The two boys blink, look at eachother, smile and turn back to the girl.

“It’s no problem at all.”

“Yeah!” Galo strongly nods, thrusting a fist into his open palm. “It’s normal to want to help people! Oh, and thank Mister Engel, too.” He points at the man himself, who was in the middle of wiping his mouth. “The pizzeria was my idea, but he paid for it!”

“Right!” She nods and turns to the butler, who seemed a tad surprised. Huh. Lio guesses even he has his moments of genuine humbleness. “Thank you too, so much, mister Angel!”

“It’s actually--” He tries to correct, but is interrupted by Engel’s hand waving in front of his face.

“Nonono, let her have it.” He says, not looking away from the girl, and Lio pushes his arm away with a huff.

“But yeah, it ain’t a big deal!” Continues Galo. “After all, when someone needs saving--”

“--You save them.” Lio finishes, with a small smile on his face, and is delighted to see a spark in his friend’s eye. “Right?”

The older boy has a bewildered expression on his face before, like a ray of light, instantly lights up and he nods. “Right!” He giggles and Lio does, as well.

“Ah! I got it!” The girl snaps her fingers, and the children give her their attention once more as her grin widens. “‘You’re in-sync’ means you’re perfect for each other!”

Lio softly gasps. Galo squawks.

“I-I mean, y-you’re not wrong, but like--perfect in what way!?” Galo starts babbling, sitting up on his knees as his arms flail around. “Like as friends, right!? In a friend way, we’re totally perfect friends, haha--!”

“If it puts you at ease--” Galo stops once he hears the voice behind him, and before he can even turn his head, Engel has placed a gloved hand on his soft mohawk. His presence there surprises all three children--he was sitting across from Galo, how did he get there so quick!? “The young lady meant that you are both good boys, ergo, you two shall light up the world with your own little spark of sunshine.” He smiles, patting Galo’s head.

“Ah…” Galo dumbly replies and scratches at his cheek. “Y-yeah…”

“Yeah!” The girl agrees and reaches over, putting her hand on Galo’s buzzcut next. “You’re a good boy, Galo!”

“H-Hey!”

Despite Galo getting increasingly embarrassed, Lio can’t help but huff out a laugh. He seems angry, but isn’t making an attempt to push the hands away at all.

He sits up on his knees and extends his hand to Galo’s hair, and makes the boy jolt as he turns his head to look at Lio, as if making sure the third hand on his head is not a hallucination.

Lio smiles and ruffles his hair. “The best boy.”

And at that, Galo finally mellows down, his face utterly red as he hangs his head and puts his hands in his lap. He’s shyer than Lio’s ever seen him with all the positive attention on him, and Lio can’t help but want to spoil him more, make him get used to this kind of touch--not one of violence, but of praise and affection.

Galo’s still blushing, and Lio realizes then and there that it’s the cutest thing he has ever seen.

Lio wants to pinch his cheeks.

And so, he does.

Galo squeaks and squeezes one eye shut, hands scrambling at the younger boy’s arm. “W-Wioooo!” He whines, and it only makes Lio want to pinch his other cheek.

By this point, Engel and the girl had removed their hands from Galo’s head and are watching the boys playfully fight, sighing.

The third child tilts her head, humming. “I can’t help but feel like I’m interrupting something…”

Engel nods. “You and me both.”

“_ Aina! _”

Their chatter is halted when they hear a yell, and turn to the sidewalk just outside the pizzeria to see two girls running in their direction.

“Sis!” Their third party stands on the chair and calls out as she waves with one arm, the other holding on to her chair as to not fall over. “Over here!”

The teenagers turn to the source of the voice and quickly complete their jog as they reach the table. Judging from their uniforms, they seem to be students--high school, Lio guesses. One of the girls’ hair color is identical to Aina’s, with her hair styled in two braids hanging off her shoulders and has big, round sunglasses adorning her freckled nose, pushing them up as they slide off due to her hunching over for air over the table. The other girl has tan skin and short, messy red hair adorned by a cute, teal bow. It seems she’s even more worn than Aina’s sister, as she has to kneel in order to catch her breath.

“Are you okay!?” The spectacled girl says once she’s regained her stamina, and places both her hands on the girl’s cheeks, brushing back strands of hair. “I’m _ so _ sorry I couldn’t have come sooner…!”

Aina responds by putting her hands over her sister’s. “I’m okay, sis!” She smiles, trying to reassure her. “I just got a little scared.”

“Weren’t you supposed to be with mom and dad at the office?”

She flinches at that, her smile dropping instantly. “We…” She starts, turning her head away and pouting. “They were fighting, and I was angry, so I ran away.”

The older sister sighs and brushes the girl's fringe out of her eyes. “Aina…” She says in a tired and slightly pitiful voice, before smiling and bumping her forehead to hers for a moment. "Well, you're okay. That's all that matters."

Aina's eyes widen before she smiles and reciprocates the gesture. It tugs at Lio's heart, because he remembers when his mother used to do that to him since he was a baby and nowadays she just settles for quick pecks and pats. He should be happy for her, so he tries to smile.

It doesn't work out, but thankfully, no one seems to notice.

"Hold on." The young girl speaks up with a scandalized look, the soft smile falling from her face faster than Lio can follow. She grabs her leftover slice of pizza and promptly _ shoves _ it in her sister's mouth, catching her completely off-guard.

"I told you not to shout my name in public!" She shouts. "What if someone recognizes me!? _ Geez _!"

Her sister frowns and takes a small bite of the pizza before speaking. "Aina, we've been over this--oh wow, this is really good.” She says quickly, in awe at the pizza before she goes back to her stern voice right away, “--there aren’t any government spies hunting for you just because you broke a soap dispense--”

“_ SHHHHH! _ ” Aina slaps her hands against the older girl’s mouth, shushing her loudly. “The walls have _ ears _!” She shushes her loudly before looking around, her nervous gaze landing on the three males sitting by the table, watching this exchange go down with varying degrees of surprise, confusion and amusement. “Y-you didn’t hear anything! Right…?” She nervously asks, her grip on her sister’s face going a bit slack.

“What?” Galo asks, voice louder than usual and presses his hand against the back of his ear. “What are we talkin’ about?”

Lio squints.

“I’m afraid my hearing has gotten _ dreadful _ over the years.” Laments Engel. No it’s not?? He’s got the ears of a bat. The slight look of a vampire, too, with how he dresses. “You wouldn’t happen to have heard the past three minutes of this, would you, milord?” He looks down sadly at Lio, and just for a quick moment, Lio could’ve sword he saw the eye behind his monocle wink.

He perks up. Oh! Oooooh.

“Oh,” He says and turns to Ai--_ the girl _ with a regretful look. “The cars were so loud, I didn’t hear anything... did you say something important?”

She smirks like a fox, crossing her arms. “Not. At. All.”

The sister shakes her head as she gets up.

“Thank you so much for taking care of A--um. My sister.” She bows her head to Engel, hands grabbing at the bag slung over her shoulder. “How much do I owe you for the food…?”

“Oh, nothing! This is chump change for us!” Engel waves his hand dismissively. “Just get home safe, you three.”

“I see… Thank you so much.” She bows once more, quickly this time and turns to her friend as the girl jumps off the chair "Let's go home. No sense in us going back to class now." 

"Ahah, yeah…” The other teenager laughs nervously, her shoulders suddenly sagging as she facepalms. “Oh, Mr. Wakabayashi is gonna _ kill _us next Monday for running off..."

The sister laughs quietly before she places a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Thyma! I’ll take the heat off of you. It was a family matter, and you were only helping.”

“Still…” She sighs, looking to the side. “I should call my sister to give me a ride home…"

"Isn't she working right now?"

"W-well, she is, but--"

“C’mon over to our place,” She bumps her elbow into her side, eliciting a squeak out of the other girl. “I’ll let you stay over!”

She responds by waving her arms around frantically, and Lio is instantly reminded of Galo. “I-It’s not _ that _ late! It’s only four--”

There’s a loud slam on the table that startles them all except for the culprit.

“_ FOUR _!?” Galo yells before he reaches over to the plate like an animal and starts digging into the leftover pizza slices. “Aaaagh, where did the time go!? Lio, dig in! Dig in quick! There’s one more place I gotta take you to!” He insists, gulping down crust at the speed of light. Lio’s amazed he hasn’t choked yet. “I was plannin’ to go to the aquarium but--aaah, there’s always next time!”

Lio huffs out a laugh before reaching for another slice. “Yeah.”

“I’ll indulge, too.” Engel adds.

“Man, boys are weird.” The girl states, watching the three at the table indulge themselves in their remaining food before she skips in-between her sister and her friend and grabbing each of their hands, grinning from ear to ear as they start walking away. "Let's get ice cream on the way!"

Heris giggles. "Sure. Sounds good. But first, what do we say?”

The younger sibling lets out an ‘ooh!’ as she lets go of the older’s hand and turns back to the table.

“_ Thank youuuuu _!” She yells, waving her arm at the boys, and they all wave back with varying intensity.

She also adds, putting her hand by her mouth to further strengthen her yell, “_ Have fun on your daaaaate! _”

Galo freezes and starts pounding on his chest. Ah, there we go. There’s the choke.

“You shouldn’t eat so quickly.” He chides as Engel pats him on the back, but Galo only responds with a ‘MHM.’ without looking up, his face surprisingly red. Was the pizza too hot for him, too?

In the distance, he can hear the last pieces of conversation between the three girls. “Those boys are on a date, Heris!”

“Really? That’s nice.”

Lio hums. Is a date really such a big deal? He’s never been or really saw one, not in real life, anyway. He only knows it’s spending time with someone you like, and Galo fits that bill to a T.

He watches the older boy take big gulps from a water bottle that Engel pulled out of nowhere, before choking on that, too, and spilling water over his shirt.

Yeah, he definitely likes Galo.

  
  


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“You… Wish for me to drive you to the sunflower field?”

“The one near Lio’s house, yeah!”

Engel’s eyes widen as he puts away his phone, having just done texting Lio’s mother about their current status. “Whatever for?”

Galo bounces in place, pumping his fists up and down. “Picnic!!”

Engel hums for a few seconds and crosses his arms, one of which comes up to hold his chin in thought. “Well, I can escort you, but you should avoid coming too close to the estate… The missus might think you two are done with your playdate.”

“That’s fine! We just gotta not cross the line! Just like basketball! Or football!” Lio sends him a mildly surprised look, and Galo notices, his eyebrow quirking up before he jolts and scratches behind his head. “Or… soccer, or whatever.”

Lio huffs through his nose in amusement. “You can just say ‘date’, Engel.” He smiles up at the man, and hears Galo grumble in embarrassment once more. You’d think he’d get tired of it.

The butler closes his eyes. “You are but a boy, milord. I cannot allow you to commit so quickly to a potential partner.” And just as Lio frowns and steels to defend himself that _ ‘he’s mature enough and Galo is fantastic friend-date potential, thank you very much’, _Engel continues, opening one eye to smirk and wink down at the two children. “Once you turn ten, however, that’ll be a different story.”

The younger child rolls his eyes and puts his hands on his hips. “It’s still a date to me.”

Engel repeats the gesture. “As you wish, your Highness. Come along, now. We should not idle.” He waves to the owner of the restaurant and turns to walk along the path, glancing up at the sky while shielding himself from the rays of light shining down on them with his arm. “The sun seems especially quick to leave today’s banquet.”

Galo blinks. “What?”

His arm is grabbed by Lio as the latter begins to follow Engel, and encouraging the other child to do the same. “I think he means it’ll be sunset soon, so we should hurry.”

The older boy clicks his tongue as his head lulls backwards. “_ Oooooh. _” He drawls, before whipping his head to stare straight ahead once more. “I don’t get big words.”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to.” Reassures Lio, squeezing his hand. “I’ll explain them for you.”

Galo responds to this with a chuckle and lightly knocking his arm against Lio’s, eliciting a laugh out of both boys. “You’re so smart, dude!” He praises, his smile like the sun itself, and Lio takes the time to appreciate it before it fades to a pout, unusually contemplative.

“You know that dream you had?“

“The one I told you yesterday?”

He nods while humming in affirmation. He then pauses for a few seconds as he--once again, unusually--gathers his words. “I think I had somethin’ similar last night?”

Lio gapes. “Really?”

“Yeah. But I just stood still.” He compares. “Couldn’t move, somethin’ was like, grabbing me and holding me back, I think? And the fire-person didn’t talk to me. Just… awkwardly stood there, just kinda like…” He scrunches up his nose. “Spazzing in place? It was weird. Kinda creepy, too.”

That _ does _ sound a bit creepy, especially if Galo really couldn’t move. Lio’s instinct to fear had always been to freeze in place, so he knows the feeling. Of not being to look away, even if you wanted to.

“I feel bad.”

“For the fire?”

“Nah… Sorta? I mean--” Galo shrugs and massages his neck with his free hand, his steps getting heavier. “I was like… scared ‘cuz it looked like it was gonna pounce on me at any moment. And then I woke up and I felt like maybe it was scared I was gonna do the same? I mean…” He pauses as he trips on a loose brick in the road, quickly regaining his balance with Lio’s help. “I dunno.”

“Well… I think you’re right, about it being as scared as you are.” Lio speaks up after looking up at Engel. He seems to be keeping a reasonable space away from the boys to give them their privacy, but looks over his shoulder often to make sure they’re still following him. He’s not sure how the man thinks about this subject, so he lowers his voice a little as he adjusts his bangs. “I wasn’t scared in my dream, just… confused. I’m not sure how to describe it.”

Galo hums thoughtfully.

“Hey, Lio.”

“Hm?”

“If I ever tell you mean things cuz you’re a Burnish, you’re allowed to punch me.”  
  


Lio blinks, thinking over the sentence for a bit before he smiles. “I don’t think you ever will, but I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Well, ya never know. Growing up seems to make people get all hoity-toity.”

“Then I’d just have to kick you off your high-horse.”

“Yeah! Kick adults in the shins!”

“How harsh.” Engel chirps in, curling his moustache with a gloved finger. “But also, please do. I’d love to see some learn their place.”

Galo attempts to kick at Engel’s feet but the latter quickly dodges it without even turning back, causing the child to whine and the adult to laugh. Lio watches the spectacle with a shaking head and a small smile.

It’s his last day.

He grabs Galo’s hand again and grips it tighter than before. If Galo notices, he doesn’t point it out.

  
  


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“Hey, since we didn’t get to go to the beach this year…” Galo says after the car has revved up. “Let’s go next year! We can collect seashells, search for crabs…”

Lio perks up and looks at Galo with sparkly eyes. “And _ eat _ the crabs!”

Galo’s grin immediately falls and gives his friend a worried look. “Uh… No? I thought about like, just pokin’ them.” He demonstrates by making his hand into a ‘pointing’ form and pokes at the seat in front of him.

Lio, however, just cocks his head in confusion. “Why? Crabs are _ great _.”

“Yeah, they are!” The other boy emphasizes by slamming his fists on the cushioned seats. “But to _ eat _??”

Lio smiles and puts his hands on his lap, smiling at Galo a tad smugly. “Engel and the other servants have cooked freshly-caught crabs for us last year when we were at the beach. It was delicious!”

And crab really is tasty. He was turned off to it at first himself, but watching Engel eat it in earnest encouraged him, and _ man _, was he glad he gave it a second chance. He loves animals. It’s such a shame a lot of them make such good meals, too.

At his explanation, Galo blinks away his distaste. “Really? It’s that good?”

“Mhm! And the meat kind of like,” He brings his closed fists together at the sides, and then twists both his wrists, as if breaking something. “--Pops out of the legs, it’s pretty cool.”

“Out of the legs!?”

“Yeah, the legs.”

“I thought crab meat was like… a burger shape. Y’know, ‘cuz of their bodies?” He demonstrates by making an oval shape with both of his hands, thumbs and middle fingers touching.

“That’s what I thought, too, at first… I guess crab cakes exist? They kind of look like small crabs, don’t they?”

“Oh yeah!” He snaps his fingers (or rather tries to) “Like, really small ones!”

Lio nodded as he watched Galo kick his legs under the seat, but their conversation is interrupted by a cough from the front seat.

“If I may ask, young master Galo?” Engel speaks, adjusting the rear view mirror so he can look at them better.

“Uh, sure?”

”You didn’t seem to be too alarmed at the Burnish attack announcement.” He speaks in a slightly interrogative voice, which causes Lio to cock an eyebrow, but Galo just seems confused and shrugs.

“Neither did Lio.”

“Only because you were there.” Lio responds, and the other boy gives a sheepish grin as he scratches his cheek.

“Are Burnish attacks simply common?”

“Those warnings n’ stuff? Like, once every two months, if there’s a big fire.”

“That’s…” Lio can see Engel squint in the mirror. “Quite often.”

“And dangerous…!” He half-whispers, whipping his head to Galo again, looking completely unalarmed compared to the panic on the younger’s face. “Shouldn’t you move if there’s so many attacks?”

Galo casually leans back in his seat, crossing his arms behind his head. "I mean, from what dad told me, it isn't any better here than it is anywhere else." He explains. “He says Burnish attacks are just things that happen, n’ all ya can do is hope it doesn’t happen anywhere near ya. That they’re inevi… inavee…” He blinks up at the roof of the car, lulling his head side to side. “...Something?”

“Inevitable, mayhaps?" Engel supplies.

“Yeah, that!”

Galo grins, but Lio’s shoulders sag.

“Inevitable, huh.”

Inevitable. Impossible to avoid. Just like fire, Burnish or not. Just like the fact that Burnish will continue to burn things and people will continue to not even try and find out the reason why. Just like his parents monitoring him every moment without actually paying attention to him.

Just like him leaving tomorrow. 

Lio doesn’t think he likes that word all that much.

Before the mental list can go on, however, he feels a hand come down on his, and he stares at it before looking up at its owner.

“Don’t worry, Lio! I’ll be fine!” Galo grins reassuringly. “You know I can handle myself around fires!”

That's… partly one of the things he was worried about. For some reason, the thought that Galo might be near one of those fires didn't cross his mind. Galo's resourceful, and his parents make sure he's prepared for anything. A little fire can't hurt Galo.

Not counting the one time it almost did.

...He shakes his head and forces a smile. That's not a thought he wants to dwell on, either.

“Yeah, I know.” Lio says, instead.

With a final squeeze of his hand and a lopsided smile, Galo lets go and sticks his hand into his pocket, presenting his phone and earbuds.

  
"Traffic seems a little rough today." Engel sighs, tapping his finger on the steering wheel as he looks on at the rows and rows of honking cars. "Well, it _is_ the weekend, I suppose."

"It's usually worse than this." Galo comments as he types something on his mobile.

"Is that why you run everywhere?"

"Yup!"

Well, Lio has newfound respect for Galo. Yes, he likes the guy and admires him beyond comprehension, but respect… Well, they're getting there.

Galo smiles and puts one of the earbuds in his ear, and extends the other one to Lio. The latter boy takes it and puts it on right before Galo lays the phone in the space between them as a somewhat familiar font saying "[ NATSU KOI ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP-kAKqZKSM)" appear on the screen, and his ears are soon greeted with a catchy beat.

"What's the title mean?" He asks, as it doesn't seem this video has any subtitles.

"'Summer love'!"

"Ah." He blinks up at Galo's distracted smile, and back at the phone. "It fits."

"Hm?"

"The music, I mean. To the title." He corrects himself, a bit too quickly as he brushes his hair away from his face. "I guess."

Galo just purses his lips in thought and continues listening to the music. Lio's kind of glad he decided not to dwell on that too much.

The punk-style clothes of the girls, the beat-up state of the place they're dancing in and their singing soon distracts Lio enough from his own words and the incessant sounds of traffic, and he loses himself in the melody.

It's his last day, and the slightly somber, melancholic tone of the song reflects his feelings despite him not being able to understand it.

  
  


🔻

🔻

🔻

  
  


“I’m off to do some grocery shopping, then.” Engel grunts as he leans on the car’s open window. “Call if you need anything.”

Lio cranes his neck to the side. “Are you going to be okay with the traffic…?”

“There are shops on the borders of the city. I think I’ll settle for those.” Engel adjusts his monocle, and then slinks back his pompadour as he mumbles, “They tend to sell better products for cheap, anyway.”

“Byeeee, Mr. Engel!” Galo enthusiastically waves with one hand, using his other to adjust his backpack. “Thanks for the ride!”

Engel smiles sweetly and revs up the car, the children stepping away as it does an u-turn and speeds back in the city’s direction.

Galo owlishly blinks at the retreating car while Lio stays still and smiles.

“He’s a good driver, isn’t he?”

Galo squints down at him. “You sure about that?”

Lio turns to him with a deadpan look. “Are _ you _?”

“...I dunno how to respond to that.”

“Me neither, actually.” The younger boy shrugs as he starts walking towards the dirt path separating multiple rows of sunflowers. “Let’s go?”

“Let’s gooo!” Galo announces with a thrust of his fist into the air before he jogs up to catch up with Lio.

“We haven’t been here in a while…”

“It’s only been like, a few days, dude.” Galo comments as he crosses his arms behind his head.

“Has it really…?” Lio gawks. “It feels like forever.”

Galo doesn’t read the mood, and barks out, “Went by pretty fast to me! ‘Time flies by fast when you’re having fun’, right?” He grins, but Lio frowns.

“But I had lots of fun with you.” He counters, shaking his head. “And I still feel like it’s been, like… four months since I met you.”

Galo glances down at Lio, kicking dirt under his feet. “That’s wild, man.”

“It kind of is, isn’t it…” Lio sways and looks down, mimicking Galo’s actions and kicking at stray rocks before he speaks up again, nervously rubbing at his arm. “I’m not… being too clingy,” He mumbles, sparing a glance up at his friend through the gaps in his bangs. “Am I?”

Yes, he knows he’s a child, and that Galo’s a child, too. But he’s been given the cold shoulder from adults and children alike when he tries to act familiar and friendly. Speaking with Galo and having so much body contact with another person is… unusual, to say the least. Not that it’s bad. It’s very much welcome. And Galo is a very open person. But he still can’t help but feel like he’s being a bother, somehow. He can’t help it. It’s just how his mind works, unfortunately.

His doubts are eased, however, when Galo quickly whips his hands to his sides in defiance. “What--no!” He shouts, like it’s obvious that Lio’s wrong and he’s ready to list off all the reasons why. “I like that you like being with me! Makes me feel all warm n’ fuzzy and…”

Galo trails off, the smile sneaking to his face quickly disappearing as he looks ahead and slows to a stop. Lio cocks an eyebrow and stops, looks to where the other has his sights on, and--

His breath is stolen.

“Woah.”

His sentiments exactly.

The path before them, and the flora around it, has been completely scorched to ash for the next eight meters or so. The pitch black remains in front of them are a sharp contrast to the colorful green, yellows and browns of the rest of the sunflower field, and Lio feels Galo’s hand clench at his shirt sleeve due to the sudden change in scenery.

“What happened here...?” The older breathes out, taking a tentative step forward into the blackness. “’s all burned to ashes...”

“...Ah.” Lio blinks as he feels Galo tug him forward, still holding on to him like a lifeline and grounding him. “This is from the fire a while back, I think.”

Galo whips his head back to Lio. “F-fire? There was a _ fire _ near your house? A fire--” He gestures with his free hand to the remains around them. “-- _ this _ big!? Are you okay...!?”

His hands come up to shake Lio by his shoulders and the younger stumbles a little, but regains his posture when he puts his hands on top of Galo’s. “I’m fine…!” He reassures, but Galo doesn’t let go, so he starts explaining, his fingers tightening on his friend’s. “At night, two days ago, a Burnish fire started here. We don’t know who did it, but I was near it, and--”

“You were_ near _ it!?” Galo interrupts with an incessant shout, and starts shaking Lio again--more fervently this time. “Are you _ sure _ you’re okay!? Did ya get any burns!? I-I got somethin’ for burns! I think--!”

“I told you--I’m _ fine _!” Lio ceases Galo’s panic with a shout of his own that he doesn’t recognize and gulps before he continues. “Sera got me out of there before it could get near me.”

“But…” Galo’s brow furrows further, his eyes searching for… _ something _, in Lio’s. “Why were you there at night in the first place?”

Lio flinches, remembering his parent’s incessant yelling, their argument, them talking about him, and the fire,_ ▲nd the fire-- _

“Not now…?” He’s brought back to the present by Galo’s worried tone and shiny eyes, and startles, looking down at his feet.

He nods shakily, and says in a small voice, “Not now.”

Galo hums in acceptance and slowly steps back, his hands sliding to hold Lio’s properly and let them hang between the two of them.

“Well, this… kinda blows.” Galo shrugs and pouts, though he still looks clearly shaken. “There was like, a more open patch of dirt here, and I wanted us to have a picnic? But now it just feels kinda…” He lets go of one of Lio’s hands to scratch at his head.

“Disrespectful?” He provides.

“Yeah…”

“I heard somethin’ about disrespeeect!” A voice, apparently unaware of the mood booms through the boys’ solemn exchange. “I want _ all _ the juicy details!”

The kids turn to the source of the voice. It’s along the scorched dirt road, and in the short distance they see--

“Sera, Colum.” Lio calls their names as his eyes widen. “What are you doing here…?”

Sera seems just as surprised to see the kids as they are, if her slowed steps are anything to go by. “Could ask you the same thing.” She counters. 

“Ooh! Ooh! Are you still on your date!?” Colum skips excitedly to the two boys and squats in front of them, a grin present on his features, and lightly elbows the younger boy in the side. “Master Lio, did you finally score!? _ Youuu sly dog, yo _\--”

He is interrupted by a fist anchoring on his head.

“He’s _ nine _.” Sera growls, not taking her fist off even as Colum begins whining and massaging his head.

“I didn’t mean it like _ that _!” He tries to defend himself, but Sera just straightens up and flips her ponytail so that it lands on her shoulder.

“Well, I didn’t like your tone.”

“Pah.” He huffs and stands up as well, dusting off his pants. Galo and Lio look at each other, telepathically exchanging question marks before they turn back to the adults.

Galo decides to be the one to speak up for the two of them as he points to the servants. “Are _ you _ two on a date?”

“_ HA! _”

The sudden bark of laughter freezes all the boys present, and the wild, toothy smile that was on Sera’s face disappears as quickly as it appeared.

“No.” She says, back to her deadpan expression. “And what are _ you _ two doing here? Weren’t you going to the city or something?”

“We’re on a date.” Lio replies, simply.

Colum _ gasps _ and opens his mouth in a big ‘O’ shape like he just won the lottery and starts shaking Sera’s arm violently, head whipping between the boys and the woman.

“Huh, good for you.” The maid nods as she slaps away the butler’s hands and he starts jumping up and down, pumping his fists excitedly. Is he okay?? “But what are you doing _ here _?” She gestures to the soot around them, and Galo goes on to explain.

“I wanted to take Lio to the middle of the road to have a picnic n’ a bonfire n’ stuff! I didn’t know there was a fire here...”

Colum tilts his head to the right. “A _ bonfire _…”

Sera tilts her head to the right. “...in a _ sunflower field _?”

“Y-yeah…?”

“Dude, that’s like,” Colum crosses his arms, eyebrows furrowed in rare worry. “_ Asking _ for a fire to start.”

“T-the road is wide enough…!” Galo tries to defend by stomping his foot, kicking up some ash in the process, and points to the bag he’s carrying. “And it’d just be a small fire! I got an extinguisher with me!”

Sera squints. “Wait, is he kidding?”

“No.” Lio says.

“Damn.” Her eyes widen, impressed. Colum whistles.

“Wait! Well…” The butler claps and puts a hand to his chin, nodding as he turns to look up at the maid with a slightly sly look. “As long as they got adult supervision, it should be fine, right, Lady Sera?”

“What are you…” She squints down at him, but her expression suddenly softens as if in realization--gaze switching to the two young boys before she sighs and pushes some strands of her long, red hair behind her ear. “I… Okay--yeah, might as well.” She submits. “Don’t want ‘em accidentally spreading another fire, anyway.”

“Exactly!” Colum laughs, slapping a hand on Sera’s shoulder.

She frowns immediately. “Don’t push it.”

“Yes, ma’am!” He keeps on smiling as he lifts his arm up to the air, does a twirl, and hops towards the still-standing sunflowers.

Lio’s head switches between the two servants. “Wait, so you’re…!?”

“Yup!” The man butts in as he returns with a ripped sunflower and some half-burnt wooden sticks, dropping them in the middle of the soot-ridden road. He then brandishes a lighter out of his pocket, twirling it around his fingers before switching it on. “Let’s light ‘er up!”

“But isn’t like, kinda weird?” Galo interjects, hands outstretched. “Or rude??” 

Colum has the decency to pause at that, turning to the maid once more. Sera herself is looking down at the children, a hand obscuring her mouth. And when it retracts, there’s a surprisingly soft smirk gracing her features. “I think,” She starts, kneeling down in front of the boys and roughly patting them on their heads. “They’d be happy to know you’re thinking about them, or even considering it. Besides, you’re succeeding where they failed, right?”

That gets them to look up at her, eyes confused, but curious as Sera’s teal eyes, unusually laced with mischief, bore into them.

“You’re carrying on the torch.”

They blink and look at each other, before nodding resolutely.

That seems to be enough for Sera as she stands up and flips her ponytail over her shoulder. “Colum?”

With a sly grin, the man throws the lighter into the small set-up for a bonfire, and Lio is about to protest that that’s not enough to make a fire, but to his shock, the thing goes up in blaze immediately--so quickly that he and Galo quickly take a step back, holding on to each other as they do.

“And there she goes!” Colum announces haughtily, brushing off his hands as he looks up at the fire. It’s practically his height but he doesn’t seem afraid of it at all, and neither does Sera.

The shorter adult turns to the boys and grins at them as he does a thumbs-up. “There’s nothing to be afraid of!” He reassures, “Anything happens, you can blame it on the mean adults!”

“All adults are mean, Colum.”

“Some are meaner than others.” He crosses his arms behind his head. “We’re the lesser evil.”

“I’ll toast to that.” Sera nods. “Well, actually, no--we’ve got kids, so.”

“We haven’t got any Piccolo over at the estate, have we?”

“No,” Lio interjects, “Fizzy drinks give me a tummy ache.”

“Oooh, right.”

“I got apple juice!” Galo interrupts, grabbing his heavy backpack and laying it on the ground with a loud ‘THUMP’. How is his back not broken!?

“Well then, lay it on us!” The man claps and steps closer as Galo pulls out a giant blanket and helps lay it out some ways from the bonfire. The atmosphere almost immediately loosens up--Sera sits down and takes her frilly headband off, Colum loosens his bowtie. Apple juice and some familiar tupperware is laid out, one of them being the pudding the butler gave them earlier that day.

“Uh,” Galo lifts up two plastic cups and frowns, like a sad puppy who has just been scolded for chewing on a toy too hard. “I only got two cups…”

“T-that’s fine! Me n’ Lady Sera can just share a cup, and you two can share the other one!”

“M-me n’ Lio!?” Galo startles, nearly crushing the cups in his hands as they loudly crinkle. “B-but that’d be an--an indirect kiss!”

“God, I was right, you _ do _ watch too much anime.” Sera shakes her head, taking one of the cups and pours herself (and Colum) a glass. “It’s just a cup, dude. I’ve had Colum wear my clothes. This is nothing.”

“H-hey, I thought I told you to forget that!”

“Your first mistake was believing me.” She takes a sip, and side-eyes her companion with a smirk dancing on her lips. “Besides, you looked good in them.”

“I know, but--” He tries to protest, but all that comes out is frustrated squeaks and he throws his head back, ruffling it. “_ Uuugh _ , you’re the _ worst! _”

“Baby, you know it.”

“Uhhh,” Galo interrupts them again, and they immediately turn to the boy with a start--like they forgot there were children present. Is this how Engel feels when he’s around them, Lio wonders... "I also only got like, some food, ‘cuz I thought it was just gonna be me and Lio…” He scratches at his head sheepishly, presenting two chocolate muffins, which--despite being slightly crushed--Lio gasps at immediately.

“Ooh, Sera, Sera--” Colum half-whispers as he crawls to the maid’s side on all fours and puts his hand to her ear. “I just realized--!” The rest of his panicked tangent is incomprehensible to Lio, and he tilts his head. Galo repeats the gesture.

“We’ll leave soon, hang on a little longer.” Sera’s ‘whisper’ is just a little bit quieter than her usual voice, though Lio guesses it doesn’t really give away what they were talking about, anyway.

“But I don’t wanna be a third wheel…!” He whines, kicking his legs against the blanket a little, and Sera plants the palm of her hand on his face, pushing him away.

“Oh, bear with it, you big baby.” She groans out. “We _ work _ for a _ married couple _.”

“But they’re like, not romantic at _ all! _This is totes different!” He insists, but still sags his shoulders, sighing over-exaggeratedly. “Ugh, this is high school all over again.”

“What’s up with him?” Galo bluntly lets out what was on his mind. Lio’s glad, he was about to ask the same.

“He’s just sulking because his love life is non-existent.”

“Says _ you! _” Colum grabs the cup of apple juice from Sera’s hands and takes a sip before he continues. “Your sis has got a girlfriend and she’s like, what, seventeen?

She puts her hands in her lap and closes her eyes, feigning disinterest. “Thyma’s cute, that’s why. Anyone who would _ not _ want to date her is an idiot.”

“You’re _ hella _ cute, though.” The butler smirks.

Sera’s brow twitches and she turns her head away. “Shut up.”

“You _ are! _ ” He insists, pointing at her face and swings his head to the boys, shaking his head. “She’s _ so _ cute, you guys.”

“Not as cute as Lio.” Galo comments with a grin.

Lio quirks his eyebrow up at the boy, but lets the compliment go for now. “Sera _ is _ pretty, though.”

Under her bangs, the woman’s eyes seem to soften a little bit, and Lio gives a little smile.

Colum chuckles and leans back on the blanket, winking at the maid. “I think someone’s too busy getting praised for her skills to realize she’s a total bombshell, too.”

Lio swears he sees a vein pop off in Sera’s neck, though her face seems a little flushed, too. Is she alright…?

Before he can inquire about that, she stands up abruptly. “I’m leaving.”

As she says that, she wafts her hand through the bonfire and Lio jolts. Her hands seems fine, but why--

“Wha--” Colum blinks, head swinging rapidly between the boys, Sera, and the cup of apple juice before he sets it down on the ground and gets up. “Lady Sera! You embarrassed!?” He screeches, running after her retrieving figure. His sleeve brushes through the fire but comes out unscathed. “I’m just statin’ facts! Seraaa, c’mooon! Step right up! C’mon, you know--”

“_ THANKS _ for the juice,” Sera booms, waving her hand aggressively at Lio and Galo and unsuccessfully tries smacking Colum in the face as she does. “Have a good _ DAY _!”

“Atom bomb baby, I love her so~!”

“It’s ‘Got a doll, baby’.” She grits out.

The butler snaps his fingers up at her. “Hey, you called me ‘baby’--!”

His teasing ceases as Sera pulls on his tie, wraps it around his neck, and dragging him along the soot-covered road. The man keeps up as best he can so that he doesn’t die of asphyxiation, and does what Lio thinks is a wave to the boys, so he waves back hesitantly. Galo does the same before breaking the silence with his eloquent wording.

“Man, they’re weird.” 

Lio nods. “Adults are weird.”

“At least they’re nice!”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, is it me, or did the fire like, die down?”

Lio blinks at that, eyes glazing over the bonfire to notice that…

“...It did.”

Instead of being three times the size of the boys, the bonfire is now reasonably small, just about going up to Lio’s nose if he were standing up. He also sees a peculiar, oddly-shaped spark crackle out from the wood, but it’s gone before Lio can properly examine it.

“Well, at least we won’t have to worry about it spreading, right?”

“Mm.” He nods once again, still staring at the fire.

He blinks slowly, watching the fire crackle fervently and despite himself, reaches out a hand, feeling its seering warmth. It’s so much different than the heat of a radiator, or even the one given by a fireplace. It’s wild, practically untamed and…

Free.

Something wraps around his wrist before the fire can lick at Lio’s palm and he realizes it’s Galo’s hand stopping him, the boy’s expression showing worry and relief at the same time.

“Dude, just ‘cuz I can’t touch fire doesn’t mean _ you _ can!” He chides, now holding Lio’s wrist in both of his hands.

“S-sorry…” Lio meekly bows his head, holding back a whine in his throat which quickly dies down when Galo shoots him a lopsided smile, a silent agreement that everything’s okay between them. He smiles back a little, relieved, and his eyes drift to the fire. It continues crackling to its own unique rhythm. “The fire _ is _ nice, though.”

“Man,” Galo lets go of Lio’s wrist and leans back on the blanket, hands splayed out on the blanket behind him. ”And you were afraid of fire just a few days ago.”

Lio turns his head to grin at him, trying to mimic Galo’s sunshine smile. “I’m learning a lot of new things, thanks to you.” _ ‘And my servants’ _ Lio thinks but doesn’t say, so that he doesn’t ruin the mood.

Galo smiles, before it disappears just as quickly. “OH! Speaking of fire!” He exclaims out of nowhere, crawling back to his backpack and digging around in it before emerging with some kind of paper bag. Lio tilts his head in question as Galo turns back to face him.

"Okay, so like, I wanted to buy a B-day cake for ya, but then I got to the baker's, and I realized I dunno if ya got like a preference? 'Cuz there's so many types of cakes and they're either a hit or miss and I dunno which ones ya like. So I was like 'hey, can't go wrong with chocolate!' but they were all outta brownies and only had the expensive stuff and I used up most o' my cash on presents for ya so I just got a muffin."

Galo finally pauses as he brandished a big, chocolate muffin in a blue muffin cup, with the word 'Milka' printed all over it in fancy writing out of the bag and holds it out with both hands.

"And then I realized I forgot to bring candlesticks.” He finishes.

Lio blinks. Blinks twice. Looks between the muffin and Galo multiple times before he slowly points at himself. “It’s a… birthday gift?” He finally gets out, disbelievingly. “For me?”

“Not the only one but yeah! Birthday muffin! For you!” Galo grins, and it’s dazzle just stuns Lio in place even more. “You had birthday cake before, though, right? I saw it in that pic Mister Engel sent me.”  
  


“Yes, but…” He rubs his arm, eyes still wide. “Never from someone I know… never from a friend, or someone my age...” And never one so _ small _ . Lio’s cakes were always at _ least _ twice his size, with multiple layers and more than enough to sate the guests attending.

(Lio didn’t even talk to most of the guests. His birthday nowadays looks more like another another excuse for his parents to establish business ties, just sprinkled with sweets and decorations)

The muffin is small and can fit in Lio’s small hands, but it’s causing more emotions to swell up in Lio than any other cake he was ever given.

“Well, glad to be the first!” Galo takes his reaction in stride and holds the pastry out closer to the other boy. However, his eyes widen and he puts the muffin down on the blanket. “Oh! Actually, gimme a sec.” He says and Lio nods as he watches Galo dig into a side pocket in his backpack, brandishing a wrapped lollipop. Lemon flavored, he thinks? It’s yellow? It’s yellow-flavored.

“Did ya know my teeth are _ real _ strong?”

“No.”

Galo bites his teeth into the bottom of the wrapping paper and unwraps it with one tug. Lio’s _ already _ impressed and begins to clap when Galo throws away the paper only to _ chomp _ down on the candy and muffled, cringeworthy crunch sounds are emanated.

Did he just—

Galo slips the white stick out of his mouth, the lollipop that was attached to it completely gone, the only trace of its existence floating around in Galo’s puffed up cheek. 

“Hshee!?” He gets out though a mouthful of cracked lollipop and winces as he chews. “Ow. Ow. My teeth. _ Ow _.”

Lio shakes his head. “Idiot.”

“Yeah, but watch this!” Galo smiles and crawls to the fire, holding his arm far away from him as he sticks the tip of the stick into the fire, the plastic slowly darkening. After a few seconds, Galo pulls away and sticks the now-lit stick into the middle of the muffin. He brushes away the dust on his hands, gulps down the candy and throws his hands in the air.

“ジャジャーン!” He yells. “_ Candlestick! _”

Lio goes to clap again, but instead just holds his open palms in the air before clapping once and flopping them back on his knees. “That’s both amazing and gross.”

“I _ know! _ Hurry up before it goes out!”

“What?”

“Blow it out!!” Galo insists, pumping his fists up and down. “Blow the candle out!! And don’t forget to make a wish!”

“Oh!” Lio startles and picks up the muffin in both hands, watching the fire flicker on the lollipop stick and eat away at its crumbling, darkening parts. It’s almost mesmerizing.

But he doesn’t want to give Galo any more reason to tell him to hurry up, so he closes his eyes, thinks up his wish, takes a deep breath,

and blows out the flame.

  
  
  


_ ◣⊑⏃⌿⌿⊬ ⏚⟟⍀⏁⊑⎅⏃⊬ ⏁⍜ ⊬⍜⎍⎍⎍◥ _

  
  
  


Lio urgently opens his eyes, but is quickly distracted by loud clapping and then a body tackling him, wrapping the smaller boy in warm arms.

“_ Happy Birthday, Lioooooooo! _”

The younger boy blinks rapidly, wondering if he should focus on Galo’s voice or… _ whatever _ it was he just heard. “I-It was a week ago...!” He responds absentmindedly.

“_ Happy LATE Birthday, Lioooooooooooo! _” Galo shouts even louder as he cradles Lio from side to side, laughing and squeezing Lio so tight that the boy can’t help but hug back and join in on the laughter.

He gazes down at the smoke from the makeshift candlestick when Galo’s shaking more or less subsides, and feels a twinge of sadness as he sees the black smoke be taken away by the wind of the field, its sad color fitting well with the ashes around them.

“Wanna set somethin’ else on fire?”

Lio looks up to see Galo pressing his cheek into Lio’s, smothering his face against his and once again distracting him from his thoughts.

“That dude and Miss Sera said we should make more fire,” He grins, and Lio can feel it as he does. “Right?”

Lio stares at the boy out of the corner of his eye, before he smiles, and nods.

  
  


🔻

🔻

🔻

  
  


Apparently, Galo had enough space in his endless backpack to stick some sparklers in there. Lio was starting to begin Galo’s bag was some sort of portal into another dimension.

It takes Galo demonstrating how to use it before Lio is convinced he won’t be able to blow his hand off by accident, but when they finally set off their sparklers simultaneously on a ‘one, two, three!’, they kneel down and watch the sparks fly in different directions.

They’re pretty. Not as pretty as the fire, but pretty.

Lio lets his eyes drift up, to Galo, who is gazing down at his own sparkler with shining eyes. Lio knows it’s probably the reflection from the sparks that’s making them more pretty than usual, and he’s sort of thankful for that.

Now that Galo’s more or less standing still and not bouncing all over the place, though, Lio notices some sort of black patch of cloth that’s emerging from the sleeve of Galo’s t-shirt, and it extends to half-way through Galo’s forearm. His cheek is also off-colored by a small, red patch of skin. It definitely looks better than when Lio saw him yesterday, but it still tugs at his heart.

Without thinking, he reaches a hand out and puts it on Galo’s cheek.

The boy almost freezes and, rather slowly, turns his head to Lio with a shocked expression. His other cheek is also rather red. Lio doesn’t remember it being there… did he get it today?

“Um,” Galo chokes out, then laughs. “Lio…?”

“Does it still hurt?”

“Huh?”

“Your face. And arms? Everywhere?”

Galo perks up, and puts his own hand to his face, causing Lio to retract his arm. “Oh! Yeah, I’m good!” He smiles, but it looks a tad unsure. “Kinda sore, but I’ve had worse!”

Lio frowns. “That doesn’t make it okay.” 

“Well—!” Galo starts before he flaps his mouth shut, eyes darting around as he seemingly brainstormed for a way to counter Lio’s claim. “Did your parents get mad ‘cuz I stayed over? After I left, I mean.”

“A little, but I wasn’t hurt or anything, so they just had Engel come with us today.” He shrugs, looking down once more at the sparklers in their hands, beginning to die out as the fire makes its way to the tips of their respective sticks. “I think they were afraid you might’ve infected me with something. Like rabies.”

Galo puffs out his chest and points at himself with a thumb. “The only thing I infect people with is my shinin’ personality!”

“That’s true.” Lio smiles amusedly, and brushes a strand of his longer hair behind his ear. “My parents think everyone and everything is going to make me sick. I’m used to it, though.”

“...That doesn’t make it okay.” Galo throws Lio’s own words back at him.

The sparklers die out unceremoniously.

“Aw.”

Lio’s thoughts exactly.

“Let’s throw ‘em in the fire.”

“Is that safe?”

“I dunno.”

They look at the bonfire, then back at each other, and shrug.

“Eh.” They both say before throwing the used-up sparklers into the bonfire and watch as it flickers at the subpar amount of additional fuel.

“Engel says that when you’re used to something bad, you ‘cope’.”

“Cope?”

“To deal with something by doing something else.” At least, he thinks, pouting and looking up. “Like eating ice cream? I don’t know, Engel was kind of weird about the example.”

“So like, distractin’ yourself?”

“Mm.” Lio nods and lays down on the blanket, Lio following suit. “I guess you cope with bad stuff by helping other kids?”

“Hmmmm.” Galo loudly hums before he decides on an answer, crossing his arms behind his head, acting them as a pillow. “It makes me happy, yeah, but I don’t do it just because I wanna distract myself from the like, bad kids. I do it ‘cuz I wanna.” He says and props one of his legs on his other knee, bouncing his leg to an inexistent rhythm. “I love helpin’ people!”

Lio turns to look at him and smiles at the statement. That’s his Galo, alright.

His face returns to a neutral expression when he looks back up at the sky. If only he could be so loving and _ cap _ _ ▲ _ _ ble _

No, stop that.

“I don’t really… ‘cope’.” He starts, quietly, shuffling his body to get more comfortable and wringing his fingers together as he lays them on his tummy. “I just watch things go by and don’t do anything about them. Even when Engel got chewed out on my behalf I couldn’t do anything.” And even when he convinced his mother to let Galo stay over, she only did so by leaving him with what she thought was a helicopter maid that was to watch every move the boys made.

He blinks up at the smoke from the bonfire forming into indistinct shapes, and fading as they fly further up into the sky, leaving almost no trace of their existence.

He frowns.

“I don’t want to ‘cope’.” He says resolutely, voice louder and lower. “I want to _ change _.”

Something catches his hand and wrings it out Lio’s own personal handhold. He glances to the side and sees Galo intertwining the fingers of his right hand with Lio’s.

“You can!” He says resolutely, somehow completely seriously despite the smirk playing at his lips. He looks somewhat mature like this, with eyebrows scrunched up in a way that showed he was _ completely _ confident in what he said. Lio wonders if he will ever see another person with passion as bright as the one in Galo’s eyes. “I believe in you!” Passion for _ another person _ and not just themselves, no less.

“If I change…” Lio begins, and looks down at where their hands are joined. His hands are a little smaller, but big enough to hold Galo’s palm in a grip. “...Will you still recognize me?”

“Totally, dude!” The older boy nods, his hair splaying out on the blanket. “As long as that fire in you stays the same, I’ll be able to recognize you from yards away!”

Lio doesn’t know if the warmth inside his chest is from the fire, anymore.

It’s a little scary. And exciting. But scary.

But…

Galo’s here.

“Yards isn’t that far, you know. It’s only a couple feet.”

“Then, uh, kilometers!” Galo corrects himself, and then gasps, slamming his other hand into the ground. “From SPACE! How ‘bout that! I’ll be able to recognize ya from SPACE!”

“That’s stupid.” Lio says, even as he starts laughing.

“I’m the smartest kind of stupid!”

“You are.” He wipes a stray happy tear from his eye. “Does that make me the stupidest kind of smart?”

“Well, you know a lot of stuff but not what a kiosk is. So yeah, I guess so!” And it seems like he's about to finish, because he turns his head away, but he snaps his head towards Lio again. “You’re like one of those princes who know everything except the most basic stuff to the point that it’s cute!”

Lio pouts. “I don’t like princes. They’re all full of themselves. And I don’t wanna be a princess, either. Actually, I don’t want to be _ any _ kind of royalty.” He sulks. “Just being rich is bad enough.”

“Well, Lio, you got like, the power of both!” Galo insists as he props his face up on his elbow, looking down at the other boy. “Like, pretty and brave like a prince, and pretty and graceful like a princess!”

“You said ‘pretty’ twice.”

“Haha, well…”Galo tries scratching at his cheek bashfully, but throws himself off balance with the arm he was holding himself up with, and awkwardly fumbles around until his arms are no longer trembling. Lio raises an eyebrow, but an idea pops into his head before he can comment.

”Oh, you _ did _ sort of rescue me from my castle.” He recollects the first day they met, where Lio was sitting by idly, waiting for nothing particular to happen, when suddenly a dashing boy on a bicycle came to save him from boredom. Sure, his sword was only a imaginary katana, but it was good enough to make Lio become interested. “That’s the one thing I can admit I have in common with a princess. So, thank you for that.”

  
Galo blinks, and lets his hand slide to his hair, messing it up. “Well, it’s not like you were totally trapped… Ya just needed a push! Something to get your feet movin’ on your own! And,” He looks at Lio, expression a little shy. “You rescued me from the rain yesterday. And you even defended me n’ gave me shelter! So, like, uh…”

It seems like it’s gonna take Galo a bit to come up with further argument, so Lio giggles and sits up a little, propping his chin on the back of his hand as he sends the most smouldering look he can manage Galo’s way.

“Does that mean I’m your Prince Charming?”

“Huh?” He says it as a half-joke, but, as Lio expected, Galo sits up as his arms start to spasm around and he goes red in the face. “Uh-_ I mean--Uh _ \--It doesn’t _ really _, I guess, UH--!”

  
Lio can’t keep a straight face for the live of him when he’s with Galo, and puffs his cheeks out as he tries to restrain his laughter. “I’m joking!”

“Oh.” Galo ceases his actions entirely, takes a deep breath, and grabs Lio’s hand in both of his. "Let's be each other's Prince Charming, then! We'll be even!"

It only takes a second for Lio to burst into bewildered giggles, but it takes a couple more for him to choke out an “Okay!” in-between said giggles.

“Okay!”

Galo nods strongly and hops to his feet in a motion too quick for Lio’s eyes to follow. Hesitantly, he gets up as well as Galo starts pulling out something significantly big from his backpack.

“Aaaaalright!” Galo says, turning around and holding whatever he has behind his back. Lio tilts his head at the boy’s wide grin, but stays still as he comes closer to him.

“Without further ado…!” Galo’s smirk turns slightly mischievous as he holds out in front of Lio what seems to be a white box with white streaks, a plastic window on its front, showcasing a--

Lio’s brain short circuits and his mouth opens a little.

A small, black and silver motorcycle model.

The letters in big, over exaggerated font read ‘Chopper!!’.

“_ Happy Week-Late ninth Birthday, Lioooooo! _”

Lio doesn’t move for a few seconds.

Eventually, he finally blinks and holds out his arms to accept the gift. Galo plops it down in his waiting arms.

It’s not at all heavy, and there’s a price tag on the top of the box with ‘$16.85’ written on it in hasty writing.

But.

But.

“For me?”

“Yup!”

Lio gulps, and looks up at Galo. His view is bleary and it hurts a little to look up at the sun, as well as that big orb of light behind it that dares compare itself to Galo’s bright grin.

“_ For me _?” It comes out weaker and more shaky this time, but Galo keeps smiling and nods.

“Yup!”

“_ Me?? _”

“Yup yup yup!!” Galo bounces with each word.

It’s like a glass that kept being poured into over the course of the day was now overflowing, and just like that, Lio started crying.

He probably looked ugly, sobbing in the middle of nowhere, his tears falling on the plastic box and leaving stains. He moves his hand to try and wipe at his face and almost loses balance on the box. The boy’s overwhelmed mind and body apparently decided ‘_ that’s it, we’re done’ _ and Lio flopped to his knees on the ground. At least the box won’t fall now.

He’s still crying, though. But he can’t help it.

He’s so _ happy _.

It’s stupid, it’s a stupid box of a stupid, small toy of a stupid bike that stupid Lio probably won’t be able to ride the real, stupid deal of until he’s grown up and ran away from his stupid home.

A great, stupid gift from his great, stupid friend.

Lio is _ stupidly happy _ and he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right now.

The aforementioned stupid friend, the person Lio would not trade for anyone else at the moment--not even _ Engel _ \--kneels down and wraps his arms around Lio’s frame, and starts cradling him from side to side. They’re at a bit awkward angle, because Galo has to keep a distance so that the box won’t stab him in the stomach with it’s cardboard corner, but Lio couldn’t _ care less, _ dangit. He throws his arms around the boy and clenches his hand in his shirt as he continues sobbing.

And laughing. When did he start laughing, too?

Galo’s dorkiness really is contagious.

The only ‘sickness’ Lio has ever been glad to catch.

“Lio,” Galo’s voice cuts through his laugh-sobbing, and Lio notes in his muddled mind that the other boy’s voice sounds a bit strained, right before he hears a sniff. “You’re cryin’.” He says. “And I’m cryin’, too, but I’m happy!” He pulls away a little bit, enough to look Lio in the eye, and the younger sees that his friend is wiping away at stray tears, despite the ever-present smile on his face.

“Does that mean you’re happy, too?”

Lio chokes out a hoarse laugh right as he hiccups. An ugly sound unbecoming of him, but it only serves to make him laugh _ more _.

“Uh-huh!” He nods, smiling wide. He can’t speak coherently right now, so he hopes that’s enough of an answer.

It seems to be to Galo, as he knocks his forehead against Lio’s and wraps his arms around his small neck.

Everything feels so warm and good, like all the burdens on Lio’s shoulders have lifted off into the clouds, burned away to smoke with the fire.

Whatever fire Galo has in that heart of his, it’s making something alien but oh-so pleasant swell up in Lio’s chest, and he welcomes it with open arms.

Eventually, Lio regains himself enough to pull out his pocket tissues and offer them to Galo before starting to wipe at his own face. (He may be from a “stuck-up” family as Engel and others put it, but it’s still _ definitely _ worth having tissues with you at all times.)

Afterwards, he takes out the burnt lollipop stick out of the muffin and starts digging in.

“Is it good?” Galo asks.

Lio snivels, still not having fully calmed down, but nods eagerly. “Mm-hm!”

“Nice!”

Lio hums and nods happily. The muffin crumbs are kind of getting all over his clothes, but whatever.

Lio remembers something his father had once said, ‘_ Great food is made even better with the right company! _’ and Lio didn’t really understand it back then, but he thinks he understands now.

He’s never particularly had a favorite pastry flavor, except for maybe lemon key, but the chocolate is melting in his mouth and making him happier than any other five-star dessert he’s ever tasted. All because he’s in company of a friend.

It’s funny, Lio thinks, how so many aspects of his life can be made better just by having people he likes around.

Friendship really is a wonderful thing.

When Lio breaks out of his reverie, he’s halfway through finishing his muffin and notices Galo is holding his backpack in the space between his crossed legs, rifling through it with a frown and rapidly taking out various items out without giving them a second glance. The mini fire extinguisher from before, a water bottle, a folded raincoat, another water bottle… How big is that thing, really?

Lio gulps before he inquires. He doesn’t worry about having rude manners by eating with his mouth full, because he doesn’t think Galo will mind, but Lio’s shirt is already full of chocolate crumbs and he doesn’t need to make more of a mess on the blanket. “What are you looking for?”

“Aaah, ahaha!” Galo laughs nervously, only glancing up at Lio once before he goes back to sticking his head in the bag. “Just--hold on! I had somethin’ else for ya, I think it was… Here--no...”

Lio quirks up an eyebrow as he tentatively takes another bite, but stares at Galo all the while until the boy straightens up with the backpack completely encompassing his head and arms, making him look like some sort of half-human, half-backpack chimera. A backman? Hupack?

“_ Ngaaaaah! _” Galo screams, then tosses the backpack off to the side completely. “Where the heck is it!?”

“Maybe it got transported into the void,” Lio half-jokes. “That is your backpack.”

“Ha, ha.” Galo laughs sarcastically, hands on his hips. “If it were a void, it wouldn’t hold anything, _ dummy _!”

“I think you mean a black hole.”

“Ain’t they the same thing?”

“Kind of?” Lio shrugs. “Anyway, what did you lose?”

“It’s uh…” Galo turns sheepish, sitting up on his knees and scratching at his head as he looks over the mess he made. “I had another present for ya, but I can’t find it anywhere…”

“A-another one?” Lio blinks up at him owlishly, then back at the box in his lap. “But you already got me one…!”

“You can give someone more than two gifts for their B-day, ya know.”

Lio looks up at him, scandalized. “No way.”

“Yes way!” Galo grins. “Got a game _ and _ new shoes from my mom on my last one!”

“Woah...”

“But yeah, uhhh!” Galo goes back to frantically looking around, and starts tapping his foot on the ground. “I dunno where it is…! I KNOW I paid for it, ‘cuz all the money I got left is the one I was gonna use for our pizza! So where did I…?”

“Maybe you left it at the store…?”

Galo’s expression immediately turns from frustrated to one akin of a boy who knew he messed up.

He facepalms and groans loudly. “_ Aaaargh, _ I _ knew _ I forgot SOMETHIN’!” He starts messing with his hair as he walks back and forth on the blanket, Lio resuming to chew on his birthday ‘cake’.

“I woke up late today ‘cuz mom and dad and I stayed up late talkin’ and watchin’ TV n’ stuff, and then mom tucked me into bed ‘cuz she hasn’t done that in a while and I was like?? ‘Wow! I am SO comfy! I will totally wake up early and ready to go tomorrow!’ And then I overslept and my parents only woke me up when they were about to go out of town to look for the guys’ parents, and they asked me ‘Hey you want the keys to the house just in case? We won’t be back ‘til like, seven.’ And I was like ‘Psssh! Don’t worry, mom! I’m gonna be with Lio all day!’ and she was like ‘Oh okay, have fun! Here’s some more pocket money just in case!’” He huffs and he snatches one of the plastic bottles off the ground, continuing to walk back and forth as he hastily takes a gulp of water. “So like, I went all over the city, lookin’ for a present for ya--oh, and I texted Mister Engel to let ya know I’d be late, sorry again ‘bout that--but I felt like, ‘cuz I was late, I should get somethin’ else to make ya extra happy for bein’ late today? So I bought the motorycle n’ then I went to the plaza, looked around for somethin’ to buy--and I did! And after I paid for it I realized I was runnin’ even MORE late and I didn’t have my bike to get here quick so I was like ‘Aaaaw, _ shoot _, I gotta split!’ and started runnin’ and I guess I forgot I didn’t take the thing off the counter after I bought it??”

Galo huffs again as he stops in front of Lio and gulps down the rest of the bottle’s contents, wiping his mouth.

“So,” He says as a conclusion, throwing the bottle at the backpack and sitting down, crossing his legs as well as his arms with a pout. “That _ sucks _.”

Lio blinks, putting his now-empty paper wrapper near where the bottle landed. “You can always just give it to me tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah!” Galo perks up, but his shoulders immediately sag as he looks properly at Lio. “Wait, what time do ya leave? Tomorrow, I mean.”

Ah, there it was. The dreaded question. Lio sighs through his nose and looks to the side, clenching a little at the corners of the box. “I’m not sure… We usually leave before noon.”

“That’s twelve, right?” Galo’s face scrunches up, tilting his head. “Why so early?”

Lio shrugs. “So that we can go to bed right away after we get home, I suppose.”

Galo hums, puffing his cheeks out before blowing the air out. “Isn’t it weird how travellin’ is exhausting, even when all you do is sit?”

Lio blinks. “...It really is.”

“It’s so unfair.”

“It is.”

  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  


Galo’s frown deepens. “This is _ so _ unfair.”

Lio hangs his head. “It is.”

This whole situation is unfair.

Galo and Lio are two kids, having fun in the summer, away from the hardships of their usual lives and finally enjoying the company of another child they can relate to.

And Lio just _ has _to leave tomorrow.

“俺の側にいる.”

Lio blinks up at Galo, but the other boy has his head hung so low he can’t see his face past his hair.

“Galo?”

The boy groans and suddenly lurches forward, grabbing Lio’s hands in his and making him yelp, as well as the box to slide off his knees a little.

“_ Just stay here with me! _"

Lio freezes.

"I don’t want you to go back to your parents!” Galo keeps shouting, voice urgent and _ pleading _ and it tugs at Lio’s heart, because Galo is clearly trying to put on a tough face but he just looks like he’s about to _ cry _ . “I just want you to be happy! And _ safe _! And with me!"

He pauses to sniff, and hangs his head again, but this time, Lio can just barely see how _ sad _ Galo’s eyes look.

“Is that…” He whispers, “Is that bad...?”

“Not at all.” Lio immediately replies, shaking his head. “I’d like to stay for longer, too.”

“But you can’t?”

“No.”

“Why?” They both know the answer, but Galo asks anyway, stubborn and in denial.

“Mum and dad won’t let me.”

“You can stay over at my place.” Galo kicks at the ground. “There’s enough room.”

“Galo.”

“I got a cool figure collection, too.”

Lio’s silent.

“I _ know _ .” Galo whines, bonking his forehead against Lio’s. “But we’re totally invincible together. If we just stayed like this, I think everything would get _ so _ much better.”

“Mm.”

“I dunno what I’ll do when you’re gone.” Galo adds, and Lio’s heart drops even more than he ever thought possible. “Haven’t even--thought about it.” His grip tightens on Lio’s hands. “It’s scary.”

Lio looks at Galo, who’s got his eyes closed. He looks so… not-Galo-ish. He’s quiet, almost mellow, if not for his scrunched brow. Like if he really, really tried, he could bind Lio to this land, make sure he’d never go away. Make a wonder land where they could stay here among the ash and sunflowers, where no one can bother or hurt them.

That’d be nice. It really, really, would be.

“I don’t really know what I’ll do without my only friend, either.” Lio admits, brushing his thumb against Galo’s knuckles. “I mean, there’s nothing really good for me back home. Except Cerberus, I suppose.”

“Yeah, but. That’s somethin’, right?”

“Yes.” Lio nods slightly. “And you have your parents.”

“Yeah.”

“But…” He sighs, craning his neck further until the boys’ foreheads are not even touching anymore. “It’s not the same.”

“...Yeah.”

Lio glares at the blanket beneath them. Maybe if he glares long enough, it’ll carry them away to another land far above, a floating island where all they can do is play and not be bothered by anything, just them, and no one else.

Though, Lio guesses that’s what his home is. A patch of land that isolates Lio from anything outside, one that his parents hole themselves into so that they won’t have to deal with customers or people they don’t want to talk to.

Lio’s eyes widen a little.

They isolate themselves from the world outside of work, then isolate Lio from it, as well.

Making him follow in their footsteps, without them even realizing it.

Lio huffs out a small, weak laugh, and he hears Galo make a noise of confusion. The smaller turns his head and puts his cheek on Galo’s shoulder.

“You know, it’s a bit funny.” He says, smiling fraily. “I realized something.”  
  


“What?”

“I think… If my parents focused more on having normal friends than just work friends, I’d be better.” He slowly blinks, doing his best to control the building heat in his chest. “They would’ve known how nice it is to have a friend, and they would let me have at least one so that… I’d be better. I would’ve probably already been less weak if I just had a single friend all this time.” He tightens his hold on Galo’s hands. “And I would’ve ended up being a good child... without having to meet you.”

“L-Lio…?”

Lio takes a deep breath and pushes himself away from Galo, so that he can look him in his bewildered eyes. Lio won’t cry, not now. Before this trip, he couldn’t look someone in the eye without feeling like he was falling apart, like he should dig himself a hole for even thinking of confronting someone head-on.

But if he keeps holding his feelings in, what will be left of him, if not a volcano ready to burst and destroy everything around him?

And while that sounds enticing, the thought of laying waste to everything, to the things he hates, and the few that he loves, is too much of a risk.

“But…” He says, eyes determined as the wind blows past them. “I think I’d rather put up with all that I have… Than risking not ever meeting you.”

Galo’s eyes widen, and Lio sees the darkness lurking in them melt away, like the rising sun on a barren land.

“I love my mum and dad.”

Galo blinks, frowning slightly as he takes a step into Lio’s space. “But they--”

“I know.” The smaller child nods, rubbing at his arm. “They don’t love me that much. Not anymore, anyway.”

All because of his weak body, all because of his own weaknesses. But mostly, all because of his parents’ incompetence.

But where they failed, Lio can succeed.

“But even if the people that used to love me change, even if they try to crush my hope,” He lets go of his arm and instead balls his hands into fists at his side. “My own hope that I’ll--that _ everything _ can get better will never, ever disappear.”

He turns his head to the side, to the setting sun. A sign of the day ending, a sign that time will keep moving, not binding to any rules except its own. Lio can’t control it, but neither can anyone else.

“I’ll get stronger.” He decides, “I’ll be unbreakable. And I’ll be _ happy _. No one will be able to put out that fire inside me, not even my parents.”

Turning away his sight from the unforgiving summer sun, he sets his sight back on Galo. He looks simultaneously out of it and focused on what Lio is saying. Galo, who pays attention to Lio and how he feels, while also doing his best to ignore whatever bad things happen to him in his daily life. All for the good of another.

He’s good to others. Lio wishes internally, that Galo would allow to be good to himself, as well, one day.

“I’ll never stop fighting for a better life. So Galo,” Lio fists his hand in his own shirt, and puts on a smile. He’s sure it’s unlike his other ones. It’s a bit strained, but he makes it as wide as can be. A smile that will start out as a spark, and one day, will turn into a big blaze, alerting everyone around Lio of his existence, his _ relevance _.

“Promise me you won’t, either.”

Galo, once more, looks as if he came out of a dream.

But rather than looking like a prince, it’s as if he was on the other end of Lio’s dream, looking at him like he just arrived on a white steed to take him away and ride into the sunset. It’s almost like their first meeting--but whereas Galo’s shadow was obscuring Lio’s view, they’re both bathed in light and darkness of the setting sun. On equal ground, under the same sun.

Galo suddenly gasps and quickly brings a hand up to his face, wiping at his cheeks and eyes.

“Okay…” He says and snivels, whipping his head back up to look at Lio, and returns his smile with his own, signature grin, the rays of light reflecting off his sunny face. “Okay…!”

Lio may be dragged away, kicking and screaming from his sun, but they’ll always be under the same star, burning bright like their hope.

The smoke from the dying bonfire is carried away with the wind. Gone, but the proof of its existence is here, in Lio and Galo, in this very moment.

  
  


🔻

🔻

🔻

  
  


“Have you gotten everything?”

Galo zips his backpack shut with a resolute nod. “Yup!”

Lio yawns, letting go of his present with one hand so that he can cover his mouth. “That’s good…”

Galo stands up, hauling his deceptively small backpack over his shoulder and shooting Lio a look like he _ isn’t _ carrying like, four hundred kilo on his back. “Need me to carry ya?”

“No…” Lio frowns and pats softly at his cheek. “You’re already carrying too much. And I don’t want to fall asleep right now. Just shake me if I start nodding off.”

“Gotcha!” Galo smiles and takes hold of Lio’s free hand, starting to walk in the direction they came from. “Speakin’ of, eat more meat! Whenever I carry ya, it’s like I’m holdin’ a waffle.”

“A waffle…?”

“‘Cuz a waffle is light but if ya shake it too bad then all the sugar powder n’ cream n’ fruit will fall off.”

Lio squints. “I… think I get it?” He’s never actually had waffles, but Lio guesses that if you shake like, a cake too much, it’ll fall apart? That’s a good substitute, right?

Galo simply smiles, so Lio takes that as a victory.

They’re returning to where the sunflower field starts--Engel had texted Galo earlier to meet him at the border, so that the three of them can arrive in a car as if they just came back from the city and Engel had been with them the whole time. It’s sneaky, and Lio loves Engel for it.

They leave the burned area in the field and Galo waves it goodbye. Lio does the same.

If it responds, Lio’s too tired to hear it.

He sighs and steps closer to Galo, placing the side of his head on Galo’s shoulder. It’s a bit uncomfortable as they’re still walking and the bone is stabbing into Lio’s head, but as long as he gets to be close to him, it’s fine. He can bear it for a bit.

“Y-you, uh,” Galo speaks up, sounding a bit out of it. “Sure you don’t want me to carry you...??”

“No.”

“Try readin’ the stuff on the box! Maybe it’ll distract ya?”

Lio groans but follows his instructions. He lets go of Galo’s hand and links his arm with his instead. He blinks open his tired eyes and focuses on the letters imprinted on the box, mumbling them. There’s the brand, some trademark…

“‘Chopper’.” He reads, deadpan. “Is that what this type of motorcycle is called…?”

“Sounds cool! Like a helicopter!”

“It looks dangerous.” 

“Yeah, like you’d be able to fall off easily.”

“I don’t know if my arms would even reach it.”

“Well, get taller before ya judge!”

“The same goes for you!”

Galo sticks his tongue out and Lio returns the gesture.

“I can’t wait to get a real one.” He says, suddenly more awake from their banter.

“You’ll be the coolest cat on the block!” The older boy says with an accent that Lio can’t really distinguish. It’s like a hillbilly drawl, but not really? “But when you get a real bike, don’t throw away the one I got you, okay?”

Lio scoffs and looks up at Galo with a nigh-scandalized expression. “I’d never.”

Galo tilts his head. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Galo smiles brightly as ever and it does a good job of getting Lio to wake up with the sudden surge of… _ something _ in his chest as he looks away.

“What’s the difference between a motorbike and a motorcycle, anyway?”

“Shouldn’t you know that? Your parents sell cars.”

“Cars and motorcycles are two different things!”

“They both go ‘zoom’!” Galo demonstrates by whipping his hand from one invisible point in the air to the other in a swift motion, nearly hitting Lio’s face in the process. “They _ should _ be the same!”

“Well, one is cooler than the other!”

“Motorbikes and ‘cycles?”

Lio blinks and shakes his head. “No--cars! And bikes!”

“Motorbikes?”

Lio groans loudly, and it echoes across the field.

They then hear something akin to a man’s voice, and the boys turn their attention to it.

“Master Liooo?” They hear, and the younger recognizes it as Engel’s voice, his shoulders sagging in both relief and disappointment. Are they at the border already.

“We’re heeere!” Galo responds, cupping a hand around his mouth. “C’mon let’s go!”

He starts walking, but Lio stands his ground and tugs on Galo’s hand, causing the other to stumble.

“Wait.”

“Huh?”

Lio brings Galo’s hand closer until it’s right next to his face, and with an intake of breath, Lio lowers his head.

He feels the goosebumps that travel across Galo’s skin as he plants his lips on the back of his hand.

Lio doesn’t linger, bringing his head back up to smile up at Galo’s comically shocked face.

“It’s not a good date without a kiss at the end, right?”

“YEAH!” Galo shouts, body stiff as a board and his face anything but. “YEAH SURE YEAH. YEAH.”

“Boooys?”

“We’re coming!” Lio responds to the call this time, jogging in the direction of the voice as he drags the broken Galo along.

When they finally emerge from the sunflowers, Engel is there, checking the time on his phone before noticing their arrival and smiling broadly. “There you are! You had fun, I hope?”

“Yes!” Lio smiled broadly, letting go of Galo’s hand to run up to the butler and brandish his present. “Engel, look what Galo got me!”

The man kneels down and takes a gander at the box, letting out a whistle. “My, you’re garnering a hobby for motorcycles, aren’t you, milord?” Lio is about to make an excuse, but Engel must’ve sensed his unease and started patting him on the head with a bright smile. “You’ve finally gained a hobby! To think I’d see the day!”

“Watching anime is a hobby!” Lio pouts.

“Questionable, but alright.”

With another round of messing up Lio’s hair, the boy steps away with a giggle as Engel opens the car door for Lio and Galo to climb into.

After they’ve taken their seats, Lio puts the box back in his lap and continues staring at it. He feels like he could stare at it for the next five hours and not get tired of it. Is that weird? Whatever.

“Mister Engel,” Galo speaks up after he’s finally stopped fiddling with his seatbelt and clicked it in place. “What’s the difference between a motorbike and a motorcycle?”

“There isn’t.”

He squints. “Really??”

“No, the former is just barely used, is all.” Engel adjusts the rear view mirror. “And it’s more abstract British lingo, if I recall correctly.”

“Oh! So Lio should call it a motorbike?”

“He doesn’t _ have _ to.”

“Hear that, Lio?” Galo bumps his elbow against Lio’s with a smile. “You don’t gotta use British lingo! Whatever that is!”

“Good.” Lio flips his hair to the side. “‘Motorcycle’ sounds better, anyway.”

“Heck yeah! American lingo!”

“You still don’t know what that means.”

“Nope!”

Lio shakes his head, despite the pleasant smile on his face, mirroring Galo’s.

He’s going to miss this dork.

  
  


🔻

🔻

🔻

  
  


Lio is clinging tight to the box as they park in the estate.

“Well, here we are.” Engel says, and he sounds just slightly less disappointed than Lio looks. “Would you like me to sneak your gift into the estate, milord?”

The young man ponders this and is about to accept the offer, but with a quick glance at Galo, he shakes his head.

“I’d rather they see it.”

“Very well.” Engel nods and gets out of the car.

Lio’s heart is pounding a mile a minute as he goes to open the car door and realizes he hasn’t unlocked his seatbelt yet.

He lets the door close shut again as he leans back in his seat and takes a breath, then looks at Galo. The boy has his arms crossed and eyes tightly shut, like he’s thinking hard about something.

“This is it, Luigi.” He says, in a raspy voice that makes Lio’s throat hurt from just hearing it.

“I’m--” The younger blinks rapidly, head whipping back between the front seats and Galo and frowning in utter confusion. “I’m Lio??”

“Yuh-huh!” Galo goes back to his normal voice and steps out of the car, Lio quickly doing the same.

Stepping around the vehicle and bearing the dense summer air, he notices the older boy looking up at the mansion with an indistinguishable expression and hands on his hips.

“This really _ is _ it, huh, Luig.”

“I’m Lio.”

“You know who Mario and Luigi are, right?”

“Duh.”

“Okay, good.”

“I taught him about Mister Sakurai, so I should _ hope _ he knows about them.” Engel chimes in, stepping next to Lio. “Thank you for taking care of my young master today.” He bows slightly.

Galo thumps his fist into his chest. “No problem! But uh,” He steps closer. “When are ya leaving tomorrow? I wanna see Lio off!”

“That depends on the lord and missus,” The butler puts a finger to his chin and looks up in thought. “But I presume sometime before twelve, so It’d be best for you to come at eleven or so.”

“Eleven. Got it!” Galo claps. “I’ll tell my mom and dad to drive me!”

Engel smiles and nods. “We will be awaiting your arrival.”

Galo’s grin widens and he turns his sights to Lio, putting his hands over his as they hold on to his gift.

“Wait for me, okay? I still gotta get you your other present!”

“Of course!” Lio beams and Galo returns it, squeezing his hands. The younger then looks back up at his butler. “Engel, can you give him a ride back?”

“Of course, milord.” He bows and pats Galo on the shoulder. “Shall we?”

“Yup!” The older boy agrees, but before he follows him, he throws his arms around Lio’s neck in an awkward half-hug due to the box being between them. Lio slides on of his hands under the box so that he can hold it in one arm and throws his free one around Galo’s shoulders.

“じゃあね !”

“またね .”

They pat each other on the back before reluctantly pulling away, and the older boy waves at him the whole time as he walks in the car, gets in, opens the window and continues waving. Even as Engel revs up the car and drives away, Lio puts the box on the grass and follows the car into the highway, waving his arm with escalating enthusiasm the further the car drives away.

He keeps waving until he can’t see the outline of the car anymore.

The wind blows past him, and Lio stills his hand in the air before letting it flop to his side.

He turns his head to the estate,

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


and sighs.

  
  


🔻

🔻

🔻

  
  


With a quiet “I’m back.”, Lio is greeted by various servants bowing and welcoming him back. It seems to be a rather slow day, with everyone taking their sweet time packing. There’s also not much of a crowd, so Lio guesses some servants must’ve drove to the city for some entertainment.

(He hopes none of them saw him.)

“Hello, luv.” His mother greets him from the salon, where her husband is sitting across from her, reading something on his tablet as he takes a sip of coffee. She herself seemed to be in the middle of reading a book. “Welcome back.”

“Hi, mum.”

“Where’s Engel?”

“Driving Galo back.”

“I see.” She tilts her chin forward at the box in Lio’s hands. “And that is…?”

Lio glances down at it and turns it around so that she can see the label. “A toy.” He says, for the lack of a better word. “I got it from Galo as a late birthday present.”

She quirks her eyebrow up at it, clearly trying to come up with a reason to turn her nose up at it, but can’t seem to find any except for maybe it’s low price. “Well…” 

“It’s what boys his age are into, isn’t it?” Lio’s father shrugs from his seat with a light chuckle.

“I suppose, yes.” She sighs, brushing her hair out of her face, then reaches over to pat Lio on the cheek. “I’m glad you got something out of it, luv. Take good care of it.”

And for the first time since he’s stepped back into the mansion, Lio smiles. “I will.”

“Rest up, we’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“We’re leaving at noon, right?”

“More or less.”

“Alright.” Lio nods and steps closer to his mother, standing on tippy toes to plant a kiss on her cheek. “Good night.”

“Goodnight, luv.”

“Goodnight, sport.”

  
  


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🔻

  
  


There’s rummaging and some kind of music coming from Lio’s room, which startles him, but when he enters, he relaxes when he recognizes the culprit.

“Oh, hi, milord! Welcome back!” Colum stands up from his kneeling position near Lio’s closet and reaches out to his phone on the dresser, turning down the music coming out of it. “Did ya have fun today?”

“Yes.” Lio nods and closes the door, placing the box on the coffee table at the foot of his bed.

“Ooh, ya got somethin’ from your boyfriend?” Colum brushes the dust from away from his gloved hands and kneels down to take a gander at what Lio had brought. “Haha, nice! Didn’t know you liked stuff like this!”

“Is it really that weird?”

“Nah. I’m happy for ya!” He beams at the boy, messing up his hair and Lio groans as the man stands up.

“Are you packing my things?”

“Yup!”

“Did you happen upon a shirt with a… design?”

“All shirts have designs, dude. Well, except wife beaters, but the reason is in the name.”

“Wife… beaters?” Lio says with concern in his voice.

“Oh, they’re like, tank tops. Those armless shirts.”

“Oh.” The boy blinks. “That’s… not a very good name.”

Colum scratches behind his neck, looking away. “Nope.”

He goes back to taking the clothes in the small closet and folding them as Lio takes a seat on the bed and watches the process. The phone starts playing a new song--Colum’s playlist seems to consist of [ country songs ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNiqGatt6Nw) of all things, but they just got done discussing hobbies and judging on appearances, so Lio doesn’t comment.

  
  


_ One more tomorrow _

_ To hold you in my embrace _

_ And thrill with rapture _

_ Each time I look at your face _

  
  


“So, the shirt?” He kicks his legs and speaks up.

“_Oh!_” Colum claps his hands, dropping the trousers he was just holding to the ground. “Did ya mean the one with ‘BABYMETAL’ on it? Yeah, don’t worry, it’s in your luggage. Didn’t tell nobody ‘bout it.”

“Alright,” Lio sighs in relief, laying back on the bed. “Good.”

  
  


_ One more tomorrow _

_ To see heaven in your eyes _

_ To have your hand cling to mine _

_ And wander through paradise _

  
  


“It’s your last day, huh?”

“Mhm.”

“He comin’ tomorrow, too?”

“Mhm.”

“Nice.”

  
  


_ One more tomorrow _

_ To kiss your lips constantly _

_ And feel the pounding _

_ As your heart beats next to me _

  
  


“Hey, If it makes ya feel better…” Colum begins, slowly, as he folds another piece of clothing and puts it in Lio’s suitcase. “I live like, seven states away from my pops. He lives allll the way in Seattle, by the,” He scoffs, “Well, sea.”

“Detroit is also by the sea.”

“...Oh yeah!”

Lio shakes his head, spreading his hair all across the duvet.

“Point I’m tryin’ to make is… Some distance shouldn’t be enough to break you two apart.”

“I know that.” Lio scoffs, turning to lay on his side, back to Colum. “But…”

“It’s not the same, yeah?”

Lio blinks, slowly, in the direction of the window and the dusk outside.

“Yeah.” He says, so quietly he’s not sure if the man even heard him.

  
  


_ One more tomorrow _

_ Filled with love the whole day through _

_ And then tomorrow I’d beg _

_ For one more tomorrow with you _

  
  


“You’ll see ‘im soon.” Colum tries to reassure him, either way. “To a kid like you, a year is nothing!” He laughs, before it fades into a stutter. “...Or, wait, is it that time moves quickly for adults? I don’t remember.”

Lio huffs out a laugh, sitting up and turning to the butler. “Thank you, Colum. I’ll be okay.” He forces a smile, despite his incoming tiredness. “Engel has his number, so we’ll still be able to talk.”

“Oh! Yeah yeah yeah!” Colum snaps his fingers. “That’s always good! Pops _ loves _ to facetime with me. ‘s kinda embarrassing, but I can’t reject the guy. He’s like a puppy, I don’t wanna make ‘im sad, you know?”

“Oh, I know.” The child rolls his eyes, recalling every time Galo’s face dropped from his shiny grin to a solemn, far-off expression, and how much Lio wanted to bring the sunshine back into his heart every time, as fast as he could.

Colum sighs loudly. “The things we do for love, huh?”

Some kind of heat suddenly pricks at Lio’s heart as his eyes widen, and he quickly nods twice before looking away.

He tugs at his shirt, where his heart is.

…?

“I’ll leave your PJ’s out.” He hears Colum get up and dust his pants down as he does. “When you change into your Sunday clothes, just leave ‘em out and we’ll put ‘em in your luggage.

“Okay. Thank you.”

“You’ll be comin’ down to dinner, lil’ lord?”

“Yes.”

“Got it.” Lio hears footsteps, but instead of going towards the door, they get closer to him. “And, uh... Lio?”

The boy blinks himself back into the present at the informal pronoun, and sits up a little to look Colum, who’s sitting on the edge of the bed, in the eye. “Yes?”

Colum looks at him for a second before smiling and putting his hand on Lio’s head.

“Not to sound cheesy, but… I’m just glad you got yourself a friend. I know what it’s like to be lonely. Freakin’ sucks.”

Lio gazes up at the man and the surprising mature look on his face. It’s the same one Engel gives him most of the time, and despite their huge age gap, something in Lio’s mind wills him to relax in Colum’s presence just like he does in Engel’s.

He may be young, but Colum is definitely an adult. A proper one.

Lio smiles, and Colum’s expression brightens as he does.

He stands up after messing up Lio’s hair again for good measure. “Goodnight for now, yo.” 

Lio huffs and smooths his hair back. “Goodnight.”

Colum finger-pistols at him as he exits the room, most likely to make up for the unusual non-comedic atmosphere he brought upon. It does its job well, either way.

Lio turns on the TV, deciding to kill time before he’s called down for food, as he doesn’t think he has enough focus to read right now.

There’s a knock on the door and it quickly opens to reveal Colum scrambling into the room.

“I, uh--” He points to the bedside table, grabs his phone and turns off the music it was still playing, then quickly runs back to the door. “Yeah!”

The door is closed once again.

Huh. Lio didn’t even notice he left it.

...He really should go to sleep. But he doesn’t want to. Not yet.

He rubs at his eyes and gets closer to the screen, hugging his knees to his chest.

  
  


🔻

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🔻

  
  


When he’s called down to dinner, Lio hides the bike model under his bed.

Just in case.

  
  


🔻

🔻

🔻

  
  


The sight of his present safe and sound under Lio’s bed as he throws the sheets up takes an immeasurable weight off of Lio’s chest.

He leaves it there, making a mental note to take it with him when he wakes up tomorrow. He’d write it in his notebook, but it would leave evidence, and Lio can’t have that.

He had already changed into his pajamas, so he turns off the light and tucks himself into bed.

Lio gazes at the outside through the window for a moment, and wonders where the sun went so quickly. He wonders when he’ll be able to see it again, in this bed, this house, in Promepolis. Close to where Galo is.

Close to where his...

Lio sniffs and wraps the blankets tightly around himself. The window is closed so that no mosquitoes or bugs fall in, and he wonders if the warmth in his chest is from the dense air in the room or something else.

Heat.

He recalls the heat near his face when he was near the bonfire, the makeshift candle on the muffin, and the heat in his chest when he made his wish.

  
  


_ 'I want to be together forever with Galo, no matter how far away we are.' _

  
  


If it takes the Fountain gods a while to grant wishes, Lio wonders how long Birthday wishes take.

As he finishes that thought, he 

falls

asleep.

  
  


🔻

🔻

🔻

  
  


_Lio dreams of a bustling city. A mess of colors, a childish drawing that he can touch and then feel it move against his fingertips._

_Lio dreams of delicious tastes upon his tongue, laughing and crying and people laughing and crying with him._

_Lio dreams of someone holding his hand all the way through the dream._

_Lio dreams._

_Lio dre▲ms._

_Lio dreams of a bustling city. ▲ mess of colors, a childish drawing that he c▲n touch and then feel it ⏚⎍⍀⋏ ag▲inst his fingertips._

_Lio dre▲ms of delicious tastes upon his tongue, laughing and crying and people la▲ughing and crying and l▲ughing and crying and l▲ughing and cry▲ng ▲and l▲ugh▲ng ▲nd cry▲ng _

_Lio dreams until the colors fade into pink and teal, mixing together until he c▲n’t distinguish the red from the blue, the b▲by pink from the bro▼▼n, his BODY from the pink and teal **the p▲nk and te▲l **_

_Lio dreams of a burning figure that he knows, that he doesn’t know at all, and he sees it as it flies through the c▲ty, flies through the** bu▲ldings ▲nd the pl▲za ▲nd the trees ▲nd the pe▲ple ⏃⋏⎅ ⏁⊑⟒⋏ ⏁⍜⋔⍜⍀⍀⍜⍙ ⟟⎅ ⏚⟒☌ ⎎⍜⍀ ⍜⋏⟒ ⋔⍜⍀⟒ ⏁⍜⋔⍜⍀⍀⍜⍙ ⍙⟟⏁⊑ ⊬⍜⎍** _

  
  
  


Lio startles awake, panting and panting until he coughs and coughs.

He pats at his face, realizes he still has his hands. Normal, unscorched hands, trembling, but there.

It’s his last day._ It’s his last day. _

With a shuddered breath, he pulls his knees to his chest and sobs into them.

His panicked breaths fill the noiseless, early morning as the dawn outside the window shines its mocking light on Lio’s teary face.

One more day.

One more day and the day after that, and the one after that.

That’s _all Lio wants_.

And it’s all he won’t ever get.

  
  


🔻

🔻

🔻

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://lingojam.com/AlienLanguage  
:) 
> 
> Thank you for all your support and i hope you stay with me to Day Seven and beyond! <3 <3 <3


	7. Day Seven

Lio doesn't jolt when he hears a knock at the door. Lio doesn't turn his head when the door opens, closes, or when footsteps approach his bedside.

"Good morning, young master Lio." Engel gently calls, placing a hand on the bundled up duvet on Lio's head. "It's time to get up."

Lio stays still and silent.

The duvet is thrown off his head and he hissed at the accursed light outside his window. Birds chirping like it was another beautiful day. 

He keeps his eyes squeezed shut.

"Milord?" Engel calls again, with more worry in his tone this time.

“I don’t wanna go.”

No response, just a solemn sigh. It only causes Lio to curl up more.

"Engel," He says again, voice shaky and hoarse from his sobbing earlier in the morning. "I don't wanna go." He whines, and he hates it, he  _ hates  _ it.  _ Hates _ that he has to even  _ say  _ it.

Gentle arms scoop Lio up from the bed and carry him into Engel's chest. He twists his fingers into his ironed vest--it's still warm--and pulls at it in vain.

"Engel--"

“It's time to get up, milord.” Engel interrupts, and even his chide sounds like an apology.

  
  


🔻   
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🔻

  
  


“Luv, don’t pick at your food.”

Lio stabs his fork into the fried egg with maybe a bit too much force than necessary.

His mother sighs and brushes her hair behind her ear, turning to the other occupant at the table. “Is everyone ready, more or less?”

“More or less.” His father responds, putting his phone on the table but still staring at it. “Some have already left to wait for the bus, and some people are still packing.”

“Didn’t we tell everyone to ready their things yesterday night as to not waste time?” His mother sighed, frustrated.

“I mean, you took an absurdly long time last year sorting all your things, got frustrated, and left it for next morning, so.” He shrugs with a telltale smirk, grabbing his cup.

“What does  _ that _ have to do with anything?”

“I’m just saying, you aren’t really one to talk, dear.”

“I was--” She points accusedly at him before her eyes dart towards Lio for a moment and she falters, just a little. “ _ Inebriated _ , you know that.”

To his mother's credit, Lio doesn't know what that word means, nor is his feverish memory of that time clear enough to know what she is referring to, but Lio can take a good guess from the shameful look on her face. Adult juice, huh. 

(Oh, it's not as sad to think about that when he calls it 'adult juice'. Galo was right, it is more fun to call it that.)

Galo.

“Mhm, so you're not exactly in the right spot to blame our employees, no?”

“Listen here--”

“Thank you for the meal.” Lio hastily puts the cutlery on the plate and gets off the chair, making his hasty exit as his parents continue bickering.

He doesn't want to get dressed yet, but he also doesn't want to go outside and have Galo see him off while he's in his pajamas.

Maybe if he's lucky, he'll get to meet his parents, too, and make a good first impression.

He doesn't know why, but that thought makes his heart race faster and his legs quicken their pace up to his room.

(It won't be his room anymore in just an hour or so.

He tries not to think about how hard he wants to stay.)

  
  


🔻   
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🔻

  
  


Lio watches another taxi drive away with three of his servants as passengers.

The mansion is nearly empty, now. Lio, his parents, Engel, Sera, Colum and Maro the only ones left. The latter was sitting in his parents' car, sitting in the driver's seat with the door open as he fanned himself with a magazine. Lio's tempted to join him, but entering the car would mean he's ready to leave, and he'll have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the car before  _ he  _ gets here.

He sits down, knees pressed against his chest.

He's nervous.

He's so, so nervous.

What if he doesn't get here in time? What if they leave early? What if Engel calls him and he doesn't pick up? Did he forget? No,  _ no _ , he wouldn't forget. Not something like this. But what if there's an accident? What if he crashed somewhere again? What if he crashed on his bike again and Lio was nowhere near to help him? Would his bike be fixed by now? Lio doesn't know  _ but what if he did and he won't get to see hi _

"Here." A voice from above interrupts, and Lio jolts almost violently. He whips his head up and sees Sera handing him a water bottle. "Don't go passing out before the monkey even gets here."

Lio’s eyes dart between her and the bottle, taking it out of her hands with a small, “Right.”

He uncaps it and takes one, two gulps as Sera sits down beside him. “God, road trips suck. I can’t  _ wait _ ‘til I can get back to riding on my bike…”

Lio nearly chokes on the water. He quickly wipes at his mouth and coughs once before he turns back to Sera with wide eyes. “A  _ motorbike _ ?” He says, voice filled with hope and anticipation.

Sera snaps her fingers and smiles proudly. “Yeah, a café racer. She’s a real beauty, too. I haven’t had much time to ride her, though.” She then sighs, putting her elbow on her knee and pressing her cheek into palm of her hand. “I miss my baby.”

“Why do you talk about it like it’s your girlfriend?”

“It’s a motorcyclist thing.” She waves her unoccupied hand in the air. “I love Charlotte almost as much as I love my sis. Almost. And when I don’t talk or get to see or play dress-up with either of them, I get antsy!” She defends. Lio still doesn’t get it at  _ all _ , but he shakes his head, scooting closer to the woman.

“Can I ride on it someday?” He near-whispers, eyebrows scrunched up in a tiny frown as he looks up at her. He doesn’t mean to look intimidating, but Sera still backs up with a little noise.

“Uhhhhhhhhh.”

“Please!?” He tries again. “I’ll hang on tight! And I’ll pay for my own helmet! I promise!”

Sera lets out another weird sound as her face scrunches up further, eyes rolling to the grassy field in front of them. Her lip purses and her shoulders sag as she pushes the boy back into a sitting position. “Mmmaybe someday…?” Lio perks up again, almost bouncing in place as Sera fiddles with her ponytail. “I don’t have a lot of time because of work, and I’m usually stuck using the company car to get around, so…”

“But when you can, you’ll let me know!?”

“Yes, yes, okay!” Sera finally relents, huffing out another exasperated sigh. “Geez, you’re suddenly eager to go outside. Is it because of that thing?”

She points to the ‘thing’ at Lio’s side and he pats it gently. “Galo showed me a magazine about motorcycles and bought this for my birthday. So yes, I’d like to learn more about them.” Lio unconsciously starts smiling, beaming down at the toy model. “And maybe once I get my car license, mum and dad will let me get one for a bike!”

“Geez, you’ve got more planned out for the future than I. It’s kind of impressive. From your side, I mean.” She adds, huffing out a laugh. “It’s just pathetic for me.”

“That’s a bit... sad.” Lio quirks up an eyebrow at her. “You shouldn’t say that about yourself.”

“Probably.” Sera darts her eyes away, rolling her shoulders with a distant expression. “Hard not to do that when you’re an adult, though.”

“Try anyway.” Lio still insists, smiling assuredly when Sera glances back at him. “I want to try being a bit more positive, so won’t you try with me?”

Sera opens her mouth to say something and Lio’s almost afraid he might’ve offended her--his worries becoming true when she bites out a “It’s not that easy.”

Lio goes to retract his comment, but suddenly, there’s a hand ruffling his hair roughly, and his apology gets reduced to a yelp.

“The master’s orders are absolute, though,” Sera continues, this time with an amused tone, which makes Lio look up to see past her arm and witness the smirk dancing at her lips, “so I suppose I have no choice.”

“My command is your wish!” Lio giggles as Sera’s hand smooths out his hair before retracting. “Where do you keep your bike? I don’t think I ever saw one around the estate.” Not to mention the fact that he never saw her even riding one. Or even in the _ general vicinity _ of one.

“I hide it.” She replies simply. Almost too simply.

“Where?”

But the maid just winks down at him. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be hidden.”

Lio pouts. Sera laughs, and that’s enough to make him put off the subject. At least for now.

Especially when the door to the house bangs open and Colum frantically jogs to the car, expression a mix of panic and exasperation as he carries two suitcases to the trunk of the limousine. Maro sends him an odd look as he does so.

“The hell are you all worked up for?” Sera raises her voice a little to get his attention and the butler wipes at his forehead, groaning before replying.

“Seraaa…” He whines, bouncing in place as his frown only worsens, “They’re fighting agaaain…!”

Lio flinches.

“Oh, for--” Sera clicks her tongue and gets to her feet, patting her dress down as she marches to the mansion with a nervous Colum trailing behind her.

Only after the door closes does Lio realize his breathing has picked up and he turns his gaze back to the <strike>empty, empty where is he</strike> road, hands tightening on the box.

"Please," Lio says, hoping his quiet, strained words somehow reach the boy currently miles, miles <strike>and </strike> <strike>soon to be kil▲meters</strike> away from him,

  
  
  
  


"Don't be late."

  
  


🔻   
🔻   
🔻

  
  


“Lio, we’re leaving.”

Lio’s eyes jolt away from the road, whipping around to see his mother power-walking to the limousine, her heels loudly clacking against the rocky surface. “What?”

“We’re leaving right now.”

“But--” Lio scrambles to his feet, “Galo’s not here yet!”

“You can just call him during the ride, luv.” She opens the door to the back seat. “We’re going.”

“ _ No! _ ”

She completely freezes, stopped just as she was lowering her head into the car.

The few, dreadful seconds as she turns her head to look his way send a chill down Lio’s body, like cold water travelling down his back.

“ _ Excuse me? _ ”

Lio gulps and clenches his fists. He wobbles a little at the pressure of his mother’s cold, intense gaze, but stands his ground. “You’re breaking your promise!”

“I’m not ‘breaking’ anything.” She stands up straight, hand on the top of the car. “I said we’d ‘more or less’ be leaving around noon.”

_ Who was the child between the two of them again!?  _ “But, mum--!”

“ _ Lio Fotia. _ ” His mother begins stomping over to him and Lio takes a step back. He briefly acknowledges Maro, who is now standing by the car, looking like he would rather be anywhere else. He also notices Colum quickly assessing the situation and running up to the other man before Lio’s view is obscured by the woman’s figure. “You do as your mother says. No excuses. No  _ ‘but’s _ .”

“Mum--”

“And no ‘ _ mum’ _ s, either.” She interrupts and Lio lets out a pathetic squeak as she takes his slim wrist in her deceptively soft hand. “We’re going, and that’s final.”

“But-- _ wait! _ ” Lio’s attempt to rip himself from his mother’s grip is futile and he turns to where his gift from Galo lays on the grass, solitary, like some forgotten trash on the side of the road. He stretches his hand out towards it in vain. “Galo--!”

“Maro, start the car.”

His mother suddenly stops, for some reason not getting into the car, and Lio bumps into her. He look frantically between the car seat and her back before noticing Maro, leaning on the hood of the car and holding his other hand up, like he was stopping his mother for some reason. Colum is beside him, standing perfectly straight and sucking his own lips in like he just had a mouthful of lemon.

“ _ What. _ ”

The driver pauses, pushing his sunglasses up his nose before pointing down. “Tire popped.”

“What?” His mum repeats, more in disbelief than cold offense this time.

“Tire popped.”

“ _ How? _ ”

“Uh,” Colum finally speaks up, giggling as he shrugs pathetically. “Heat?? Made it pop??”

“Well, change it!  _ Now!” She growls. _

“Okayokayokay--” Colum babbles as he kneels down and Maro strolls to the back of the limousine. Lio’s mother sits down to groan and put her head in her hands. At the first sign of her grip loosening, Lio makes a beeline for the entrance.

He almost slips on the grass as he skids to a halt in front of the box and takes it in his arms, looking out at the road once more.

Empty. 

The sound Lio makes in his throat is indescribable.

His head whips back to the mansion. Maro is searching through the trunk, clearly not in any rush to fix the car as Colum holds the tool box in trembling hands. His mother is still sitting in the car, hunched over. The door to the mansion opens, Sera and Engel tumbling out. The maid looks between Lio and his mother, head whipping between them before she rushes over to her master. Engel, meanwhile, only takes one glance at Lio before he starts sprinting towards him.

“Milord!” He calls, “Is Master Galo still not--?”

“Of course not…!” Lio interrupts, currently in  _ way _ too much distress to inform Engel politely. “We weren’t supposed to be leaving  _ this  _ early…!”

Engel blinks before he whips out his phone and starts tapping at it, walking towards the car.

Whatever bickering starts, Lio tunes it out.

There’s a car on the horizon and Lio stands up straight, clutching at the box.

It comes closer.

And closer.

Lio’s view of it becomes clearer and clearer. It’s a blue car with a sleek look.

It comes closer

and drives right by the mansion.

Lio’s hands clench on the cardboard.

He faintly hears the sound of the door opening and turns his head to see his father unusually tired and groggy-looking, his usually slicked hair housing a few loose strands. He makes a face at the situation by the car and strolls over.

“What happened? Car died?”

“N-no, milord!” Lio hears Colum’s voice from behind the car. “Just a tire malfunction. We’ll get it up and running in no time!”

His father cocks his head and brings a hand to his chin. “You look awful. Should you really be handling tools with tremors like that, my boy?”

“I-I-It’s my job, sir! And Maro’s! No need to--”

“Hey, Mintha!” He completely ignores the boy and calls out to his wife. “What do you say we fix up the car for good times’ sake, eh, honey?”

An uncomfortable silence befalls the group as Lio’s mother lifts her head.

“You know what?” She starts, and stands up remarkably quick, as poised as ever as she walks around the car. “I need to break something anyway. Might as well be something you touched.”

“Exactly!” His father laughs, handing her a wrench and Lio squints. Was. Was that a  _ smirk _ on his mum’s face??

“Wait, you--know how to fix a tire?? Milord? Lady?” Colum stutters out, taking a few steps back until he hits Sera and she steadies him by the shoulders.

“I thought you just sold them…” Sera adds as an afterthought, tone calm but clearly impressed.

“Phrixus and I were mechanics before I inherited the company.” He hears his mother point out amidst the sound of progressive clashing of metal. “Of course we know, you fool.”

“It’s how we met! We had to compete who could fix a car better in record time!”

The woman sighs. “In the end, we have to do everything around here, don’t we…?”

“Guess so!”

Lio wants to smile. He really does. His parents are bonding right there, about twenty feet away from him, and they sound like they’re having  _ fun _ for the first time since he turned six. For the first time since he was confined to the mansion.

But that happiness is at his own expense.

The tire popping was clearly on purpose. He doesn’t know how Colum and Maro did it, but they bought Galo time. However, now that his parents teamed up...

Is this is how it's destined to be? Every time his parents are happy, Lio has to be sad and sick? Every time Lio has something good happen to him for  _ once _ , his parents have to ruin it with their useless bickering?

Is this how it’s always going to be?

Is this just his fate?

“There.” His mother announces, and Lio jolts in his spot, hands slipping on the box. “ _ Now _ we can go.”

“Um, mistress--” Sera takes a step, glancing nervously between Lio and his mother. “Perhaps we should wait for the mo--the boy to get here? Master Lio is…”

“Pah, if the boy’s late, he’s late. His loss.” His father waves her off. “Besides, we have phones for a reason! He can just call him!”

“He doesn’t have a phone, sire.” Engel butts in.

“Oh.” The man falters before perking up again and pointing at the butler. “Engel, give him your phone!”

“Mm.” Engel makes a sour face, clearly with a rebuttal in mind but also not wanting to dig himself deeper into the hole the servants have already made for themselves.

“Milady, would you not let us stay just a little while longer?” Sera tries pleading further, a hand pressing against her own chest. “It’s still early, surely we can afford to wait?”

Lio’s mother side-eyes the maid. “Not if you want your pay cut more than it already has been for you all today.”

The cold reply froze Sera up immediately, and the others take notice as she falters.

“I...” She bows her head, slowly. “Understand... Milady.”

Hearing Sera’s voice, uncharacteristically meek and soft, makes a large part of Lio’s clinging hope be blown away with the wind.

“Good. Now, does anyone else have something to say?”

Deafening silence.

“Then we’re off. Sera?”

“...Yes.”

Lio doesn’t move an inch as he hears footsteps come closer and closer. He moves to flail as arms wrap around him but hesitates, and is effortlessly lifted off the ground.

“Sorry, kid.” Sera apologizes, holding Lio with one arm as she leans down to pick up his gift. From Galo.  _ Galo--  _ “Stalled as long as we could.”

“Let’s wait longer.”

“Can’t.”

“Just a little more.”

“Can’t.”

“Please?”

“Sorry, Lio.”

Lio is placed on the car seat, and the door closes.

He just barely realizes the bike has been taken away as he hears the trunk of the car open and close. Sera must have placed it there so that it doesn’t break during the ride. He appreciates that, at least.

But now he has nothing to hold on to. No memory of Galo, his trace, or

▲ nything

He hiccups.

“Come, now. You’ll see him next year!” His father pats him on the back. “Your mum and dad received a very important phone call and need to get right back to work as soon as we get back. You’ll understand when you’re older, my boy.”

He won’t. He really, really won’t.

He doesn’t even understand what’s happening right now.

Why isn’t he flailing? Why isn’t he lashing out? Why isn’t he insisting to wait just a little longer?

Why is he just  _ sitting there _ with his head bowed down?

What is the purpose of all this?

What is the purpose of them coming here?

To give Lio moment▲ry happiness and rip it ▲way from him immediately?

Why was he brought here?

And why is the car slowing?

“Why is the car slowing?” Lio’s mother takes the words right out of her son’s mouth. She knocks against the wall of the car, to where the driver seat is.

Suddenly, an unknown feeling flares up in Lio’s body.

It builds up inside him, courses through his body, until Lio sits up abruptly and looks out the window. As if it was on auto-pilot, his neck cranes to look at the road behind them.

There’s a car.

And there’s a head sticking out of one of its windows.

Waving frantically.

“Lio--”

“Lio?”

“ _ Milord!! _ ”

“Kid!?”

“MASTER, OH MY GOD--”

Lio barely registers the frantic calls of his name and his titles as he pushes open the door and tumbles out of the still-moving limousine, wasting no time as he rushes towards the other car, stupidly grinning even when he nearly stumbles.

The car does a small drift as it skids to a halt, and out of the back of the screeching vehicle tumbles out, in all of his energetic and smiling, shining glory--

“ _ Galo! _ ”

" _ Lio _ _!"_

Like two magnets, they run full-force into each other and hug.

They press their bodies together despite the summer heat, and once again, Lio finds himself thinking that even the sun can’t compare to the warmth Galo just… naturally gives off. A warmth that makes Lio happy and safe, one that makes his heart beat with happiness and joy, fills his head with thousands, millions of things to say to the boy, gets so caught up in choosing one that he finds himself at a loss for words.

He fists his tiny hands in Galo’s red, silly, flame print t-shirt and holds on tightly as he nuzzles his face into his shoulder.

Ah, it’s so good to have his sun back.

“Liooo.” Galo whines into Lio’s hair--sending even more pleasant shivers down Lio’s body, he didn’t think he’d be able to hear his voice like this again--and is abruptly pushed away as Galo grabs a hold of his shoulders so that the kids can talk face to face. “Why were you leavin’ so early!? I almost freaked out!”

“You  _ did _ freak out.” Two figures emerge from the car; the owner of the voice was a scruffy man with glasses and brown hair, wearing a simple blue Hawaiian shirt and beige trousers. He tousled his hair with his hand in a similar fashion that Lio sometimes sees Galo do. “Screamed in our ears ‘bout it, actually.” 

“And  _ good _ !” The other figure, a woman taller than the man, had long, spiky blue hair and was donned in a white, butterfly-sleeved shirt and red shorts. She patted the hood of the car and huffed contentedly before a giant grin split across her face. “Who knows if we would’ve made it if I hadn’t gassed the thing!”

“Don’t remind me.” The man groans and leans against the car door as he pushed his glasses up. “I  _ so _ thought we were gonna crash… I need a breather.”

Are they...?

“I was surprised, too!” Lio gets out with a strained voice, clenching the fabric of the other boys shirt with his fingers. “Mum and dad just... decided to.” He utters the last part with annoyance and looks back to notice that Engel, Sera and Colum have walked out of the car and were currently watching the children's’ tear-jerking reunion. Meanwhile, his mum and dad are nowhere to be seen. From the back window of the limousine, he can see the outline of their heads. He guesses they’re waiting in the car for him? Oh well, that means he has as much time as he’d like to talk with Galo. “How did you get here so fast? You’re usually late…”

“Well, we were stuck in traffic, and then Mister Engel called me! Said your folks were leavin’ soon and that he’d stall ‘til I got here!” He throws a quick thumbs up Engel’s way and the man reciprocates the gesture, smiling as he dabs at his forehead with a handkerchief. “I told that to mom and suddenly she hit the gas pedal and sped through all the cars!” He then turns around to throw a thumbs up towards the lady’s way and she seems to throw up a thumbs up at exactly the same time, like she just  _ felt  _ it coming. Galo abruptly turns around and shakes Lio frantically by the shoulders. “I’m a criminal now, Lio! Look what ya made me  _ dooo _ ! Or what your folks made me do, I guess!”

“S-sorry, but…!” Lio recovers from his oncoming headache as he grabs both of Galo’s hands and smiles brightly, even as tears start forming in his eyes. No matter how many times he has been on the verge of tears today, it’s all worth if he got to see Galo one more time this year. “I’m so, so, happy you’re here…!”

Galo’s expression softens and he brings their hands between them, swinging them around. “‘course I did! Ya think I’d just let one of my favorite people leave without a hug? Psh, no way, Jose!”

The shorter boy huffs. “I’m Lio.”

“It’s a saying!” Galo jokingly rolls his eyes. “ _ Geez _ , Lio-eese!”

“ _ That _ is my name!” Lio raises his voice a little, “I’ll let that pun go because I’m  _ really _ happy right now.”

“Nice!”

“So… I don’t mean to sound greedy,” Lio tilts his head and feels his heart clench when Galo mirrors the gesture. “But you wanted to give me something yesterday?”

Galo lets out the largest gasp known to man. “Oh  _ RIGHT _ !” He lets go of Lio’s hands and pats around the pockets in his pants, his body doing a spin as if it would help. “Uhhh, where’s…?”

A hand places itself on Galo’s deceptively soft hair to stop his fumbling, and the man holds out some sort of small, black, plastic package to the child. “Here ya go, kid.” 

“Ah! Thanks, dad!” Galo goes to retrieve the object, but stops himself. “Oh, right!” Grabbing the bespectacled man’s wrist, Galo pulls him closer. The woman--Lio now notices she has some sort of cast on her right leg--comes over and props her arm up on the man’s shoulder with a sly smirk. 

“Lio!” He gestures to the two adults with both his hands, like a ringleader presenting the main attraction, “These are my mom and dad! Mom and dad, this is Lio!” He then introduces the boy to the taller figures. “He’s like, the  _ coolest _ !”

The younger boy tucks a bit of hair behind his ear and bows a little. “Hello…”

Galo’s dad kneels down and extends a hand to him, the smallest, gentlest smile dancing at his lips. And as Lio shyly takes it, he notices with a small gasp that his eyes are different from each other--one a hot pink and the other a sky blue--same as the flames burning in Galo’s eyes. Yeah, he wouldn’t tell from a distance, but this is definitely Galo’s dad.

“I’m Kasai Thymos.” He shakes their hands lightly. “Thanks for being friends with Galo--”

There’s suddenly a loud groan as a hand presses down on Mister Thymos’ head, and the lady traps Lio’s momentarily free hand in an enthusiastic handshake. “Name’s Electryone! Just call me Auntie Elly!”

“O-okay…!” Lio gets out, even as he feels like his whole upper body’s being shaken like a flag at a car race. “Nice to meet you…!”

_ “Aaahhh _ ! Kasai, look look look!” She squeals and tussles up her husbands hair as she does so. “He’s even cuter IRL than in the photooo!”

“I  _ can’t _ look…!”

“Eye-err-ell…?”

“It means you look better in real life than in a pic!” Galo explains, his grin almost taking up half his face as he watches his friend and family getting along. “And she’s right! A picture doesn’t even  _ compare _ to the real thing!”

Lio has time to process that compliment before he hears a voice above him.

“May I ask how much speeding tickets cost in Promepolis…?” Engel inquires, a hand gently placing itself on Lio’s shoulder.

Galo’s father stands up straight to talk with the butler properly, making his wife comically stumble back. “Umm, about hundred-fifty? Two hundred? And Elly ran two red lights, sooo…”

“I see.” Engel nods and whips out his wallet, quickly rifling through it before whipping out a thick wad of bills (which, by Lio’s standards, was actually quite thin) with a smile. “Here, then. For your troubles.”

Galo’s parents make garbled sounds of bewilderment, appreciation and utter confusion. Electryone pushes the wad away slightly back towards Engel. “Whoa, whoa, no way! We just wanted to see our boy happy! I can handle a few speeding tickets.”

“While I admire your humbleness, Mrs. Thymos,  _ we _ were the ones who caused you to go as far as to break traffic laws. This was not only for your son’s sake, but for our master’s, as well. I would go as far as to say you just saved his entire summer.”

Engel keeps going and happiness swells inside Lio because wow, Engel really  _ can _ tell how he feels with just a glance, huh? And he uses that skill for Lio’s happiness, rather than to manipulate his emotions for his own gain.

“Also, in case you couldn’t tell by the limousine, this is literally chump change for us.”

Galo’s mother rolls her eyes. “Uh,  _ duh _ .  _ Obviously _ I can see that. Nice monocle!”

Engel adjusts the piece of glass with a happy little jolt. “Oh, thank you.”

“But I still don’t wanna take money from nice folks!” She still defends, smiling, as she pushes the money away. “We’re a double income household--”

“--you  _ just _ left your job.” Kasai butts in.

“-- _ AND, _ I broke the law fully knowing the consequences. I appreciate it, sir butler, but we can hold our own! Really.”

“How noble!” Engel nods appreciatively, but it fades a little as he presses the money back to the woman. “But really now, please take the money.”

She pushes it back, grinning as well. “No, seriously, we got it handled.”

Engel pushes the money. “Take the money, ma’am.”

Electryone pushes the money back. “Keep the money,  _ sir _ .”

Push. “Ma’am.”

Push. “Sir.”

“ _ Ma’am. _ ”

“ _ Sir _ .”

“ _ Ma’am. _ ”

“ _ Sir _ .”

It looks like they’re going to be at it for a while, so Lio shakes his head and pulls Galo off to the side by the hand as Kasai feebly tries breaking the two adults up from their playful(?) squabble.

“I like your mum and dad.” He comments.

“Yeah, they’re  _ super _ cool!” Galo agrees and hides the plastic package behind him, holding Lio’s fingers with his other hand. “Okay! You ready?”

Lio nods.

“Okaaay…!” Galo’s smirk turns mischievous and Lio braces himself, a drum roll resounding in his head, before Galo whips out the present between them with a resounding “ジャジャーン!”, a sound whose meaning Lio knows to be a ‘Ta-daaa!’ without even asking for a translation at this point. And even if he didn’t know, he’d love hearing it just because Galo sounded so cute when he did it.

Tearing his eyes away from Galo’s wide smile, Lio looks down and takes the present with his free hand. “These are…”

“Jackets pins!” Galo bounces in place as Lio scans the package and its contents, eyebrows scrunching up a little. “They’re like lil’ triangles! They were pretty cheap, but since you like cheap stuff, I thought you’d like ‘em! I was lookin’ for spikes, but they didn’t have ‘em, so triangles are the closest thing, right!?”

Lio turns the package over in his hands, gazing at the glint of the black, triangle-shaped trinkets. They looked beautiful, Lio couldn’t look away from them, don’t get him wrong, but…

He snorts.

Galo cocks his head. “What?”

“This is…” He pauses to laugh. “ _ Really _ nice, but Galo…” He turns the package over to show the text at the very bottom to the other boy.

“These are earrings.”

Galo blinks.

“What.”

“See?” He lets go of the boy’s hand to point at the text below the plastic packaging. “‘Plastic earrings’.”

Galo squints at the text, mouthing the words to himself silently before he gasps and slaps his forehead, brushing his bangs away. “Oh,  _ crap _ , you’re  _ right! _ How did I not see that!?”

“Because you’re a dummy?” Lio cheekily provides and smiles wider at Galo’s pout. “Really though, the text is pretty small, so I don’t blame you for not noticing. And the name is a bit… unreadable.” He squints at the big ‘letters’ on the top of the package, which are just some kind of tangled shoelace mess. He thinks he saw something like this in the magazine he bought with Galo. Is this another ‘cool, metal’ thing he doesn’t understand yet? “Were you  _ that _ caught up in getting a present for me?”

“Well yeah, the second present was kinda a last-minute idea, so my mind was all over the place…” Galo whines, then starts tousling his hair. “Aww, man, this  _ sucks!  _ Your ears ain’t even pieeerced!”

“True.” Lio prods at his earlobes, then glances back at the packaged earrings. They’re nothing expensive or special, but at the memory of nearly every biker in his magazine having ears pierced from beginning to end, adorned in piercings of every type, he just feels even  _ more _ excited and closer to his dream image. “I guess I’ll just have to get them pierced, then.”

Galo stops grinding his teeth and hair to look back down at Lio. “Huh? Y-you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be? I love them.” Lio simply says, “You have something to look forward to when you see me with them next year, right?”

“Ah! You’re right!” Galo perks up and grabs one of the hands that’s clutching at the box, bringing it close to Lio’s ear. Galo’s lip sticks out for a moment before he smiles again. “Yeah! They’ll look totally rad on you!”

Lio puffs out his chest. “Not afraid of needles, remember?”

Galo nods, his eyes sparkling, and Lio feels the sudden urge to boast even more.

But before he can, Galo starts waving his hands around frantically.“Aaah! W-wait ‘til next year if ya decide ya want more piercings okay!? I kinda sorta wanna see you with just them next year!? Maybe? I don’t know!?”

Lio laughs, putting his hands on Galo’s and ceasing his panicking. “Okay! Okay, I promise.”

“Okay! Good!”

They both nod, and after exhaling through his nose, Lio wraps his arms around Galo, pressing his face into his shoulder.

Galo reciprocates the hug immediately, cradling their bodies from side to side.

"Y’know.” Galo starts, “I think you’re pretty strong already."

Lio blinks. “Huh?”

“You’re super strong, Lio! Like, I think you’re the strongest kid I know, actually.”

“If my last memory of this trip is you making fun of me, I’ll never forgive you.”

“I’m not! I’m serious. You’re strong ‘cuz you go through all the crap that you do, but… you’re still super nice.” Galo’s arms tighten around him. “I think staying nice when almost everything around you  _ isn’t _ is a real power move. Like, I get you not being nice to your folks. They’re kinda… mean?”

“That’s the understatement of the century.” The shorter deadpans.

“Yeah, well.” Galo huffs and shrugs, knocking into Lio’s jaw a little. “But you’re nice to the people that need it. That’s awesome.”

Lio wanted to sing his own praises just a little while ago. He wanted to give Galo more reasons to look all googly-eyed at him. But now Galo is doing it himself. Lio knows Galo is the better runner out of the two of them, but how is he a step ahead even in things like this? How is he so talented at getting Lio to feel good about himself again? To not think about his shortcomings, to focus on his good aspects and potential, instead?

"You, too.” Lio says, because he cannot take all this praise and  _ not _ reciprocate it without imploding. “You’re strong because you’re kind to everyone and help them, even when they don’t ask you to." He pauses, and then adds, “Also you can carry about five hundred kilograms on your back. Like,  _ how _ .”

“I live on the sixth floor, and I don’t like takin’ the elevator, so when I go grocery shoppin’ I run up the stairs! I sometimes put the bags around my neck so that they hang on my back.”

“That sounds.” Lio’s brow wrinkles with worry. “Very,  _ very _ unsafe.”

“Probably is.”

“You should stop that.”

“ _ Okaaay _ .” Galo whines and throws his head back, like he’s being nagged by his mom, who seems to be doing a similar gesture as she keeps on arguing with Engel. “I’ll work on my arm strength insteaaad.”

“Good.” Lio pats Galo on the back and retracts from the hug, just a little, so that the boys are still holding hands. One of his fingers is poking through the hole in the earrings’ package--as if  _ that  _ will stop him from holding Galo’s hand. Pah.

“What I’m sayin’ is, Lio,” Galo squeezes their intertwined hands and the recipient looks up, taking in Galo’s determined gaze. "You don’t gotta like, become an all-powerful superhero to impress me. You're already a hero to me!" He brings their hands up higher and his face closer. "This Lio, the one who ate a bug and invited a cryin' kid to eat with us and saved me from the rain? That’s the fancy-pants kid I like the most.” He grins brightly and his shine almost  _ blinds Lio, makes him freeze, makes him forget how to breathe-- _ “You can change yourself any way you want. I’ll support you! Just as long as you keep that kindness, you'll always be the Lio I like."

Lio’s hands are trembling. His body a little, too. He’s not sure from what. He knows he wants to  _ move _ , but. Move where? Away from Galo? No, that’s not it.

Lio looks away and shakes his head to readjust his fringe, hoping it’ll hide his probably-flushed face a little better. “I don’t want to grow up into a massive, rich jerk, so I’ll do my best not to change. If I do, slap me with a fish until I get my senses back or something.”

“Why a fish?”

“Because big fish are disgusting and remind me that the horrors of this world are due to them."

Galo blinks.

“Okay, you told me about  _ birds _ \--what the heck did  _ fish _ do to you?”

“Big fish, as in, rich people.”

Galo gasps. “Ooooh!”

“Idiot.” Lio playfully bonks the boy on the head and Galo sticks his tongue out, smiling.

"I’m still going to train, though." Lio says. “Do all the stuff we talked about. I may be strong in mind, like you said, but I don’t want to stay fragile in body forever.”

"Heck yeah! Work those muscles!"

Lio strongly nods. He is very, very far from his dream of being a normal human--a normal  _ person _ , and the thought that he might one day live normally among society--shopping at kiosks for mundane things, riding on his bike to travel and come back home to Galo (where did that come from?)--is still hard to imagine, Lio can still  _ dream _ of it, and chase that dream to make it a reality for himself.

As long as he doesn’t give up. As long as he has hope in his heart.

As long as the flame within him keeps burning bright for a better tomorrow.

“Lio, you’re amazing.  _ We’re _ amazing!” Galo exclaims, squeezing his and Lio’s hands together and how long have they been like this? Can they stay like this a little longer? Is it okay for Lio to focus so much on something simple as a handhold? He wants to hug Galo again, but he still has some restraint to let Galo finish. “Your knight in shining armor, Prince Charming and best friend will be right here, waitin’ for you!”

Galo’s smile hovers over Lio and he’s so close, yet Lio feels like he’s also so, so far away. Is it because of their height? Because Lio’s about to leave?

"And 'til we meet again, no matter what you do…” Galo scratches at his neck timidly, eyes squeezing shut in embarrassment of whatever he is about to say.

“Promise you'll keep that smile on your face, okay?” He says, and Lio’s eyes widen as the grin returns full force on Galo’s face and he goes on to lean down and lightly pinch Lio’s cheek in his fingers.

“‘Cuz whenever you smile, it's like the sun comes out!"

Restraint? What’s that?

Lio’s never really had much contact with other people. Not emotional, and definitely not physical, with the constant looming fear that he might catch something from outsiders.

But the first step to getting better is to dive right into the things, right?

For Lio, the first step was to dive in for a messy peck on Galo’s lips.

He’ll figure out the rest of the steps later.

He hears some sounds from the side, mainly gasps and squeals, someone getting shaken back and forth by their clothes and the poor victim only grunting in response. Not that he particularly cares about their opinions, but it’s still hilarious to imagine their reactions. He knows his parents aren’t watching anyway, and even if they were, he’d still do this.

Lio leans away from Galo--realizing he’s been standing on tippy toes to reach him--and his smile only gets wider as he takes in the boy’s red, red, face, looking like a tomato with blue stems. His mouth is slightly open, like he’s still processing what just happened.

"Only if you continue smiling like that forever." is his reply.

Galo’s mouth moves and he almost  _ jumps _ as he takes Lio’s hands in his once again, this time holding them between their chests and squeezing them together so hard, Lio thinks he broke him.

“Lio!!” Galo shouts, any sort of reminder about inside voice gone from his overheated mind. “I-I really--! I really, really like you!”

Lio blinks, smile still present despite Galo’s panic. “Yes, so do I.” He thought that was obvious?

“Yeah! S-So…!” He fiddles with their fingers a little bit, gathering up the courage to what he has to say next before squeezing his eyes shut and continuing.

“I’ll definitely, totally, one hundred n’ twenty percent be here next year! I’ll wait here for you! I’ll be here this year, the next year, the one after that, the one after  _ after _ that--and I’ll welcome you back again and again!” He lets go with one hand to thump his chest with a fist a little too roughly as his next delivery sounds a big hoarse. “I promise on my burning soul!”

Lio nods. “Okay. You better keep to that!”

Galo returns the gesture and seems to calm down a little, smile returning to his flushed face. “Lio! Happy birthday!” He continues, “Next year, I’ll give you an even better present!”

“Okay.”

"And--” His voice wavers, “You better take good care of that bike!"

"Okay!" 

He starts wiping at his face. “And you better call! Like, sometimes!”

Lio’s throat clogs. “Okay…!”

“And… And…!” Galo sniffs and wipes away stray tears from his messy face, looking more serious than ever as he stares into Lio’s eyes.

“You better not forget me, Lio.”

There’s tears forming in his eyes, but Lio blinks them away as he grins the widest he’s ever grinned.

“I’d never forget the world’s number one kindest idiot, idiot!” He laughs and looks Galo in the eye with the same seriousness he was given before, despite the smile dancing at his lips.

"Where there's smoke, there's fire. And as long as you exist, I will always find you--” He narrows his eyes. “Galo Thymos."

He squeezes their hands, emphasizing the scorching heat of the sun beaming upon them, but it’s nothing compared to the heat inside Lio, his determination, the bond between him and Galo.

“You finally got my last name right…” Galo laughs before knocking their foreheads together. “Good answer.”

“Do you want to know a secret?” Lio half-whispers.

“What?”

Lio smirks. “I’ve been mispronouncing it on purpose since day five or so.”

Sweaty hands come up and roughly grind themselves through Lio’s hair. “You lil’  _ brat! _ ” Galo laughs, and so does Lio. 

All good things come to a (temporary) end. And just like the sun sometimes needs to rest to let the moon take over, Lio and Galo have to let go of each others hands to part ways.

Clutching the earring package to his chest, Lio walks backwards to the car waving at Galo, the boy waving back as his parents have one hand on each of his shoulders. (His mother looks a little miffed. She must’ve lost the fight with Engel. Sorry, Mrs. Thymos.)

Engel makes sure Lio doesn’t knock into something as he keeps waving at Galo and not looking behind him, getting into the car as Colum keeps the door open.

The door window is rolled open and Lio sticks his head out, his suspenders held back by Sera to make sure he doesn’t fall out as he continues waving at his friend.

Galo’s crying, tears pouring and pouring down his face, but he keeps on waving and waving and wiping his eyes so that he can see Lio off.

He starts jogging as the car drives off, almost like he wanted to come with, like he wanted to be taken all the way to Detroit with nothing on his person--just Lio by his side.

Maybe next time.

“Liooo!!” Galo shouts after the car, “ じゃね ！”

“ またね , Galo Thymos!” Lio shouts back--this is not a goodbye. Just a ‘see you later’. It may be a while but they’ll definitely see each other again.

And since he forgot to say it earlier, he yells again, “大好きだよ！”

“俺も！” Galo replies, his grin coming back full force, and it causes Lio to immediately smile back. “大, 大, 大, 大好きだぜ！”

As the limousine speeds up, Galo’s pace slows down, along with their arms waving frantic goodbyes. When Galo is just a small splotch far, far in the middle of the road, Lio remembers that he never did ask him what that greeting meant.

The car keeps driving down the asphalt road, and eventually, eventually,

just like that,

  
  
  
  
  


he’s gone.

  
  
  


But the warmth in Lio’s chest isn’t.

Not for a while.

Not ever.

“Did you have fun, luv?”

“Yes,” Lio immediately replies, ripping his gaze from his present and to his mother. “I did!” And the unusual bright smile seems to bring out one from his mother, as well.

“Well now,” His father butts in, “No complaining when we go here again next year, I take it?”

Lio frantically shakes his head. “No!”

“Wonderful!”

Next year.  _ Next year. _

Everything Lio has longed for has been under his nose--right outside his window--and yes, it's all still out of his reach. Human contact. Playing outside with other kids. Very basic things that every child has by default.

But this is the first time where Lio’s longed for something that is now so, so far.

And yet, when he thinks about him, instead of sadness and longing, he’s filled with excitement and joy, head full of potential scenarios for what may come in the future.

Next year.

A whole year.

A whole year for Lio’s excitement to build up and up so that he has a hundred ideas for things to do when he comes back to Galo.

Lio’s patient. He can wait one pesky year. 

The scorching sun beaming down on the car is nothing compared to the hope burning in Lio’s soul.

  
  


🔻   
🔻   
🔻

  
  


“You want to get your ears pierced…?”

“Mhm. I was gifted these, so it’d be a shame not to have them on the next time I go see him…”

“Won’t you look like a rebel?”

“Why?”

“Well…”

“Suppose we could get it for his next birthday? It’s not like the boy is around people much to warrant rumors.”

At her husbands interruption, Lio’s mother ponders her answer more.

“I’ll allow it. But no wearing them around guests. Understand?”

“Yes!”

“Good.”

“Look at that,” His father chuckles, “I think that’s the first time he’s ever asked for anything for his birthday.”

“At least he’s getting more decisive.”

“Good trait to have!”

Lio begs to differ--his parents’ previous judgmental takes on his potential interests, long-dropped, come to mind. But he’s too giddy to think about that.

The earrings glitter in the sunset light.

Lio still hasn’t stopped smiling.

  
  


🔻   
🔻   
🔻

  
  


The first thing Lio is greeted by when he comes out of the car is his maids and butlers greeting him with a resounding, “Welcome back, master.”

The second thing he is greeted by is Cerberus toppling him to the ground and licking at his face.

“Down, down!” Lio laughs, sitting up and hugging the dog, burying his face in his soft, soft fur. Aaah, he missed his living pillow so much.

“I had the best time in Promepolis, Cerberus!” He tells the animal, patting its ears. “Next year, you’ll see why!” He squishes his cute dog cheeks together, and with a drastically different, serious voice, says, “I am not parting from you ever again.”

Cerberus barks and he takes that as a ‘Yes!’ and Lio goes back to beaming like he won the lottery.

He watches the servants carry luggage to and fro and scramble about the mansion. He forgot how much the summer home dwarfs in comparison to his actual mansion.

Cerberus trailing behind him, Lio climbs the stairs to the second floor and opens the door to his room. He sees his unzipped luggage, being unpacked by…

“Welcome back, milord.”

The boy rolls his eyes. “You were with us on the trip. Shouldn’t I be saying that, too?”

Engel flaps one of Lio’s pristine, white, identical shirts and chuckles. “I was in your room first, so I win the privilege to say that.”

“Tryhard.” Lio laughs and hops on the bed, patting the sheets beside him to signal the hound to join him. Cerberus recognizes the gesture and hops on the bed, circling his body around Lio’s lithe one.

He hears Engel sigh behind him. “I thought I told you to not--”

“--Let Cerberus on the bed, yes.” He quickly interrupts, starting to pat Cerberus’ head and ears with both hands. “But I missed him… I’m sure he missed me too, right? You missed me, right Cerberus?”

The dog barks.

“See? He agrees!”

“Barry is an utter yes-man, that’s why.” Engel scoffs. “I am offended that you would value his opinion over mine.”

“A good lord values his subjects.” Lio says sternly, before burying his face in the fur coating Cerberus’ stomach. “Especially the ones who are so soooft…”

Engel sighs even louder. “I should look into whether fur-repellent sheets exist… I’m sick of using lint rollers.”

Lio huffs in amusement and digs into his pants’ pocket, retrieving his gift. He has been looking over at it at least twice every hour. Maybe it’s a bit obsessive, but…

“Miss him already?”

Lio flops the earrings on the bed and hums. “Is that weird?”

“Not at all.” Engel replies softly. “I think having someone to miss is a wonderful thing.”

The boy turns his head to look at the butler and after a moment, sits up.

“Do you miss anyone, Engel?”

His grip on a piece of fabric slips, but he instantly recovers.

“Hm. Perhaps.”

Lio grunts, puffing out his cheek.

Then, taking in Engel’s smug features in more, he realizes something.

“I don’t think I know anything about you.”

Engel knows practically everything about Lio. From what kind of food he likes to which specific boots he cannot wear because they hurt his feet. What Lio’s favourite shows are, despite not completely comprehending their plots, and now, how much Lio is attached to his new, best friend.

But Lio… doesn’t know anything about him.

Not how old he is. Not where he’s from. Not where his family is, if he has any left. Nothing. Just that he likes tabletop games and hates marinated fruit.

That’s… about it, really.

Engel looks at him--a far-off look, like he’s more contemplating something about Lio rather than thinking how to respond. He then looks back down.

“No one does, milord.”

“Can I know?” He asks, somewhat pleadingly, cocking his head to the side.

The man glances up at him again. “Can you?”

Lio ponders that answer. He sounds like a stern adult for once, and Lio keeps himself from gulping. 

As he stares into Engel’s cold, distant expression, he realizes he’s  _ challenging  _ Lio. An invitation to somehow get him to open up.

Nothing was really ever easy with Engel. But as Lio knows, he has some nice starting points.

“I can.” He smiles and delights in Engel’s reaction as the butler’s usually calm, droopy eyes widen. “You’re important to me, so I’ll learn more about you, even if it takes some time. As long as you give me the chance.”

Engel blinks owlishly, adjusting his monocle and after a moment, his mouth quirks up. Then, he’s trying to hide his laughter by pressing his gloved hand against his mouth.

“You really did change, Young Master.” He chuckles and puts away whatever he was holding on the bedside, reaching over to pat Lio on the head.

“I suppose if there’s one person I’d be comfortable sharing anything with, it’d be you.” He smiles, and it’s genuine. Not stiff at all, like he usually has to make it in front of unsightly guests. Knowing that he can let go and drop his ‘perfect butler’ facade (even if he  _ is _ a perfect butler) even for a moment makes happiness well up inside Lio, despite the roughhousing of his hair. “Good luck getting it out of me, though.”

“I don’t need luck.” Lio boasts, staring up at Engel with a challenging quirk of his brow as he pats his chest. “I have my burning soul.”

“Hoping to melt down my ice armor, hm?” Engel mimics Lio’s expression before it falls back to his sly smirk and he gently pats the boy before standing up straight once more. “I am looking forward to it, sire.”

Lio smooths his hair out. Cerberus lifts his head to sniff at Lio’s head and turns his head to sneeze, most likely caused by the smell of Engel’s pricey cologne. Lio smooths out the dog’s hair next.

Engel picks up the tall pile of clothes he’s stacked up--things that Lio wore during the trip, both the ones that were and weren’t washed--and carries them masterfully in one hand as he heads for the exit to the room.

As his hand lays on the doorknob, he pauses.

“Once I have something to tell you,” He throws over his shoulder, not quite showing his expression. “I will.”

Lio’s breath hitches.

“Goodnight, master Lio.”

And with these words, the door opens and then clicks shut.

Lio sighs and turns to Cerberus, taking his head in his hands and starting to pet him.

“He’s been with me for years… but it feels like I’m just getting to know him.” He laments to his trusted canine companion. “Like there’s always been some kind of wall between us, even though we talk everyday. It’s so odd.”

He ceases his motions and a memory of a shining face in front of a sunflower field sticks to his mind, like a poster plastered in front of his brain.

“By that logic, if I stay away from Galo…” Lio whispers to himself, “Will I get closer to him...?”

Is that how it works?

Cerberus cocks his head in response and whines.

Lio shakes his head. What is he thinking? He just resolved that he’s going to get closer to his butler so that they can be more comfortable with each other. So that Engel will have at least one person he can trust, even if it’s a mere sickly child.

No. None of that. Galo would be sad if he heard you say that about yourself.

“Sorry.” He apologizes to the dog with a somber smile. “I just got back and I’m already dropping all this on you.”

Cerberus sensed the atmosphere and licks at Lio’s cheek, making him chuckle.

“Come on,” He laughs, wiping at his face. “Let’s go to bed.”

Cerberus barks.

When Lio changes into his pajamas, he barely recognizes its smell. He’d gotten so used to the scent of earth and clean air that he almost forgot how…  _ rich _ everything smelled in his real house.

Or, expensive, he supposes? Either way.

It feels weird to wear his usual night wear again, but eventually, Lio turns off the lights and hops into his large bed, Cerberus jumping on and curling himself next to Lio.

He turns to the window and notices that it’s not obscured. Usually, it’s hidden behind the white, silk curtains. As much as Lio dreams of going outside on his own, sometimes, the sight of it feels like it’s mocking Lio’s very existence and he can’t help but hide it so that he doesn’t begin to scorn the world itself.

But tonight, the curtains are pulled open, and the moon shines brightly, gently. A nightlight.

Grasshoppers chirp outside and Lio snorts.

Last night, he was crying his eyes out over leaving. Sobbing and heaving over how much he doesn’t want to leave the house, to leave his friend behind.

But now… now that he’s home, far, far away from Galo…

He clutches at his chest.

Even now, he feels like he’s still here.

Sighing happily, Lio’s eyes close shut.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


☊⏃⋏ ⊬⍜⎍ ⊑⟒⏃⍀ ⋔⟒

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


▴▴▴

  
  
  
  
  


▴▴▴☌⎍⟒⌇⌇ ⋏⍜⏁

  
  
  
  
  
  


⊬⍜⎍⍀ ⎎⟒⟒⌰⟟⋏☌⌇ ⏚⎍⍀⋏ ⌇⍜ ⏚⍀⟟☌⊑⏁ ⊬⟒⏁ ⌇⏁⟒⏃⎅⊬

  
  
  
  
  
  


⌰⟒⏁⌇ ⏁⏃⌰☍ ⌇⍜⍜⋏

  
  
  


🔻   
🔻   
🔻

Lio dreams of nothing.

When he wakes, he hears the overly familiar rustle of leaves and distant traffic.

He sits up in bed.

It’s another day.

  
  
  
  
  
  


He pats at the weight next to him and Cerberus yawns awake.

“The servants always walk you, don’t they?”

The dog blinks his eyes open.

“Let’s go have breakfast. And then,” He scratches at his companion’s ears with a sunny smile. “Let’s go on a walk, Cerberus.”

Cerberus barks.

It’s another day.

Time to turn it in his favor.

🔻  
🔻  
🔻

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isnt the end!! Not by a long shot.
> 
> Thank you for reading Smoke Signals' Act 1! I hope you stick with me for the rest of the fic, as well!
> 
> again, the translator for the symbols;  
https://lingojam.com/AlienLanguage
> 
> In case you dont get why Galo couldnt read the package, its bc it looks like these things;  
https://fiverr-res.cloudinary.com/images/t_main1,q_auto,f_auto/gigs/102663967/original/682c08337f039385c2982a0c45749b3db3b7bce2/do-brutal-and-insane-logo-for-your-death-metal-band.jpg
> 
> On Lio's parents names;  
...ngl i mostly just picked ones that sounded nice.  
Mintha, in Greek mythology, was a nymph that was transformed into an herb by Persephone after attempting to seduce Hades. At the time, mint was used in funerary rites to both hide the smell of decay and give hope in the afterlife to the initiates.  
Phrixus means "thrilling, causing shivers". Son of Nephele, the goddess of clouds. Was to be sacrificed to Zeus but escaped along with his sister on a floating, golden ram. Afterwards, he sacrificed the ram that saved him to Zeus, instead.
> 
> On Galo's parents names:  
Kasai literally just means "fire" in Japanese.  
Electryone is another name to Alcmene, mother of Heracles in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of Helios and Its presumed she was the goddess of the sunrise and man's waking sense.  
Elly is greek herself! So Galo is Greek-Japanese.
> 
> Happy new year, everyone! Let's all have a good one.


End file.
